#public-comment

#public-comment

Applause broke out during an Oklahoma man's speech at a city council meeting on Tuesday to discuss a proposed data center. A minute later, shouts of disbelief rang out across the room. "Disgusting!" one woman shouted as Claremore Police Department officers handcuffed and escorted Daniel Blanchard out of the room. Authorities said they arrested Blanchard, whose speech exceeded the three-minute time limit, for trespassing.

For years, advocacy groups made it easy for Americans to weigh in on federal regulations. If a proposed rule threatened internet freedoms or environmental protections, organizations could set up simple campaign sites: type your comment, hit submit, and your feedback went straight into the federal record. During the 2017 net neutrality fight, more than 1.6 million comments reached the Federal Communications Commission in a single day.