Policymakers

Six months with Chair Lina Khan's Federal Trade Commission

Lina Khan's first six months leading the Federal Trade Commission has shown she's either shaken up a sleepy bureaucracy or pushed long-standing norms too far, depending on who you ask. As President Biden's first year ends, many are watching Khan's FTC to see whether it really can fundamentally change how the US regulates big companies and how tech should treat consumers.

Care to confirm?

While the logjam of Biden administration nominees is slowly loosening, Democrats say that it’s not happening equitably. Progressive activists and party officials are accusing Republicans of disproportionately delaying women and nominees of color in their quest for confirmation to the executive branch. Jeff Hauser, the executive director of the Revolving Door Project, said, "There are some very slow nominations.

EU justice chief Didier Reynders meets with US officials to pitch new consumer safety dialogue

European Union justice chief Didier Reynders is making the rounds in Washington (DC), meeting with top Biden officials to discuss ways to improve consumer protections online. He’s sitting down with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director (and recently departed FTC commissioner) Rohit Chopra and Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric. Reynders wants to work with the US consumer protection agency leaders to better protect consumer finance and product safety online.

Sohn Has Issues with Net Neutrality General Conduct Standard

Gigi Sohn, President Biden's nominee for the Federal Communications Commission, told Sen.

FTC Chair Lina Khan defends rules allowing 'zombie votes' by departing commissioners

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan is defending rules allowing so-called zombie votes, by which votes from FTC commissioners who leave the agency can count towards the commission’s current proceedings, even after said commissioners depart. The practice came to light recently after reporting by Politico revealed that as many as 20 votes from former Democratic Commissioner Rohit Chopra remained active, even after he left to become head of Biden’s Consumer Financial Protection Bu

FCC Seeks Nominations for Telecommunications Interagency Working Group

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking nominations for membership on the Telecommunications Interagency Working Group, a group that is being formed pursuant to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “to develop recommendations to address the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry.” The Act directs the FCC Chairwoman, in partnership with the Secretary of Labor, to establish this interagency working group by January 14, 2022. The Working Group must prepare a report with “recommendations to address the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry, including the

Chairwoman Rosenworcel Announces Members, First Meeting of Precision Ag Task Force

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in consultation with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, has appointed members to serve on the re-chartered Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. In its second term, the Task Force will continue its work to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC on accelerating the deployment of broadband Internet access service on unserved agricultural land to promote precision agriculture.

House Commerce Republicans Express Concerns About the "Trajectory of the FTC" to Chair Lina Khan

Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) sent a letter expressing concerns about the "trajectory of the Federal Trade Commission" to FTC Chair Lina Khan.

FCC nominee Gigi Sohn will not receive a confirmation vote on December 15

The Senate Commerce Committee will not be voting next week on Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]’s nomination because some committee members asked for more time to meet with her. That’s another ominous sign for her nomination, in the wake of fierce GOP criticism. And it seems to ensure that her possible confirmation — which is required to secure a Democratic majority at the FCC — won’t happen until 2022.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel's success was a long time coming

Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel was reconfirmed December 7 by a 68-31 vote to another five-year term at the agency, but that success didn’t come from out of the blue. She’s been working the phones for a while now. Immediately after President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, Rosenworcel began making calls. She spoke to key Democrats like Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA). She also reached across the aisle to Republicans like Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS), who voted to confirm her.

Gigi Sohn‘s FCC Nomination Could Face Hold Threats

Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] could be running into more Republican and industry headwinds in the Biden administration's effort to get a Democratic majority on the agency.

FCC Commissioners React to Chairwoman Rosenworcel's Confirmation

"It is a tremendous honor to be confirmed and designated as the first permanent Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission," said Jessica Rosenworcel. "I would like to thank President Biden for the opportunity.  People across the country count on the FCC to support the connections they need for work, learning, healthcare, and access to the information we require to make decisions about our lives, our communities, and our country.

Senate confirms FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to another term

The Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, the first woman to hold that title, to another five-year term, narrowly avoiding a Republican majority at the agency once her current term was set to expire at the end of 2021. Rosenworcel will be tasked with expanding broadband connectivity, supporting 5G implementation and bringing back net neutrality rules.

Democrats Rush to Confirm Biden Picks as Year-End Deadline Looms

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is employing a two-pronged strategy to confirm more of President Joe Biden’s nominees before the end of the year, when many will have to be returned to the White House and renominated. He’s under increasing pressure to overcome the blockade Republicans have mounted on dozens of key defense and foreign policy positions, as well as noncontroversial positions, that are essential to the president carrying out his policy goals.

Gigi Sohn’s Strange Bedfellows

Does a progressive activist who wants to weaken copyright and speech protections belong on the Federal Communications Commission? President Biden thinks so, and bizarrely so do the leaders of conservative Newsmax Media and One America News Network (OAN). Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said Newsmax is “being sidelined in favor of a small number of mega-corporations who dominate the channel line-ups.” OAN President Charles Herring hailed Sohn’s commitment to “diversity in media.” The two execs may be hoping Sohn will target Sinclair and Fox News.

Vice President Kamala Harris Promotes Broadband Investments

Vice President Kamala Harris talked up the broadband benefits of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure package, which included $65 billion for broadband buildouts and adoption. Harris was tapped by President Biden early on to be his point person on the goal of universal internet access.

Trail of tweets haunts President Biden’s FCC and FTC nominees

Republican senators are alleging that the Twitter histories of Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] and Federal Trade Commission nominee Alvaro Bedoya, which include jabs at Fox News and

Recap: Sohn, Davidson Nomination Hearing

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to consider the nominations of Gigi Sohn to be a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission and Alan Davidson to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Sohn has a history of advocating for open and affordable communications networks. She is a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Senate Commerce Committee Advances Rosenworcel for FCC, Bedoya for FTC

The Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance two of President Joe Biden's nominees:

President Biden's FCC pick will be instrumental in net neutrality fight

Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], President Joe Biden's pick to fill the vacant seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, will pave the way for the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections if confirmed by the US Senate.

Coalition Opposes Sohn's Federal Communications Commission Nomination

A coalition of 18 center-right organizations sent a letter to the US Senate opposing the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission. "[Sohn's] views on Title II are emblematic of her longstanding tendency to promote policies that over-regulate the industries in the FCC’s jurisdiction," says the letter.

Conservative media is at odds over President Biden's FCC pick

In an unexpected twist, two conservative news networks — Newsmax and One America News Network— have come out in support of President Biden's progressive Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], despite a broad conservative consensus against her. If Sohn is confirmed, her appointment would give Democrats the majority they need to rewrite regulations for the communications sector.

NAB CEO Gordon Smith Expresses Concern Over FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn

In response to the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith expressed concern over Sohn's involvement with streaming service Locast. Sohn was a board member at Locast, a non-profit streaming service that transmitted local broadcast signals over the internet. In September 2021, Locast suspended service due to a federal judge's ruling centering on copyright issues.