Public access to the rulemaking process just hit a new obstacle. A quiet change rolled out last week has eliminated one of the few efficient ways people could make their voices heard about proposed US government regulations.
You know those activist websites where you just type in your name, fill out a form to add your comments, and click submit, and they automatically file a comment on your behalf to the government about a proposed rule?
That worked because those sites used a special online “doorway” (the POST function of the regulations.gov API) to send in lots of comments quickly and efficiently.
The government just closed that doorway, which means those websites can’t do it anymore, making it much harder for everyday people to easily get their voices heard in the rulemaking process.
“This will result in fewer members of the public leaving comments and result in agencies not having critical input on how their work affects people’s lives and businesses,” Katie Tracy of Public Citizen told 404 Media, who first reported the change.
Her group, among others, had used the API to help ordinary people contribute to important policy debates with minimal friction.
Previously, groups could build their own easy-to-use forms, collect comments from their supporters, and send them to regulations.gov in a single batch. Now, every individual is expected to manually wade through the government’s interface, find the relevant docket, enter their details, and solve a CAPTCHA just to share their opinion.
By stripping away the easiest means of collective expression, the government is narrowing the avenues through which people can respond to policies that affect their daily lives. The decision to disable the POST function may be buried in technical language, but its effect is straightforward: fewer people will have their voices heard.
