Net neutrality receives 3 million comments

The FCC closed the book on comments regarding Net Neutrality on Monday, but not before 3 million comments from consumers, advocates, companies, and lawmakers were received.

FCC spokeswoman Kim Hart said: "We have passed the 3 million mark for #OpenInternet comments received. We are still receiving & processing comments. More updates to come."

Two public comment periods officially ended on Sept. 15, leaving the FCC with a massive number of opinions to peruse.

The uproar came when Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a proposal that would have allowed for paid prioritization on the Web. That was directly opposite from what net neutrality sets out to accomplish. The backlash ultimately prompted the FCC to remove any sort of set rules from its proposal and to instead ask the public what they think about paid prioritization and how the FCC should handle it.

Net neutrality has some heavy hitters as backers, they include Amazon, Google, Twitter, Sen. Al Franken, and even President Barack Obama. Obama said last month: "We should be … trying to maintain an open Internet."

Moving forward, the Federal Communication Commission will host six open Internet roundtable discussions, starting today; the next five are scheduled through Oct. 7, all are set to convene in the Commission Meeting Room at 445 12th St., in Washington, D.C. Discussions will be webcast on the FCC's website, and anyone in the U.S. will be able to post questions online.