The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates media communications, comprises five commissioners appointed by the president for five-year terms. In 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn for a vacant commissioner's seat—but her nomination remains stuck in the U.S. Senate and she has endured a long and awful smear campaign.
Sohn is one of the nation's leading public advocates for open, affordable, and democratic communications networks. When he nominated her, President Biden commented on Sohn's past advocacy, saying she "has worked to defend and preserve the fundamental competition and innovation policies that have made broadband Internet access more ubiquitous, competitive, affordable, open, and protective of user privacy."
Sign and send: Urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC.
Corporations have been lobbying fiercely against her confirmation, knowing she would be an excellent public servant and likely hold them accountable. The Chamber of Commerce has publicly called on the Senate not to move forward with her nomination due to her support for policies that put people over corporations, like net neutrality and stronger antitrust enforcement. On top of that, Rupert Murdoch has been running a ruthless smear campaign against her with bad-faith arguments in the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal and on Fox News, which he owns.
Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow & Public Advocate. She sits on the board of directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. She has strong support from the nation's leading civil rights organizations due to her commitment to engaging frontline communities. Sohn would be the commission's first openly LGBTQ+ commissioner, providing lived experience to a critical governing body.
In fact, 22 LGBTQ advocacy organizations, including the LGBTQ Victory Fund and the National LGBTQ Task Force, want Congress to confirm the nomination and sent a letter Monday to Senate leadership. They wrote that it is “past time” for Sohn to “use her tremendous qualifications for the betterment of our country.”
The fifth commissioner's seat has stood vacant for too long, interfering with their ability to work on important projects like expanding broadband into rural communities or restoring net neutrality rules. If the Senate Commerce Committee strives to put their constituents first above corporate donor money, then they should confirm a nominee that does the same.
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Will you join us in calling the Senate to confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC?