WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission leaks confidential information to some companies and trade groups with business before the agency while leaving consumer advocates and the public in the dark, congressional investigators have found.
The Government Accountability Office, in a report to be released today, said the agency tips off some people about what items are about to be voted on, which gives them an unfair lobbying advantage.
“Situations where some, but not all, stakeholders know what FCC is considering for an upcoming vote undermine the fairness and transparency of the process and constitute a violation of FCC’s rules,” the GAO said.
The FCC is an independent agency created by Congress in 1934 to oversee the nation’s airwaves and regulate telecommunications services. Information on its upcoming actions can move stock prices and, at times, affect entire markets.
Lobbying of FCC members is prohibited during the weeklong “Sunshine Period” between the release of meeting agenda and the actual meeting. But investigators found some insiders get a heads up before the sunshine notice goes out.
This allows them to “time their lobbying efforts to maximize their impact.”
“It’s like a 3-point shot at the buzzer,” said Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
David Fiske, director of FCC media relations, told The Associated Press that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin “has always been very open and transparent” about what issues are coming to a vote and that the commission is “exploring ways in which we can make our processes even more open and transparent.”
