A coalition of telecommunication groups, consumer advocates, and civil rights organizations is pushing for the Senate to vote after the midterm elections to appoint Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission, empowering it to pursue net neutrality, Big Tech regulations, and other liberal agenda items.
The coalition urged the Senate to get Sohn confirmed during the lame-duck session. Sohn was put forward by President Joe Biden in October 2021, but her nomination stalled in committee and was returned to Biden in January 2022. She was renominated, but her candidacy had been pending due to her controversial views on net neutrality and conservative broadcasters.
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“We call on the Senate to give the consideration that is due to this highly qualified individual,” the coalition wrote, “who has dedicated her career to ensuring consumers have access to communications services available to everybody, regardless of income, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, geography, or political viewpoint. Her life’s work is the embodiment of the FCC’s mission, and we simply cannot have a less-than-fully functioning FCC to persist any longer.”
The letter noted Sohn’s 30 years of experience in telecommunications and technology policy and her work as a “consumer advocate and as a government official.”
The document was signed by liberal organizations such as the tech advocacy group Chamber of Progress and Accountable Tech, as well as by GLAAD and Greenpeace. More local signers of the letter include the California Center for Rural Policy, the Hawai’i Broadband and Digital Equity Office, and Omaha Community Broadcasting.
The coalition sent the letter on Friday to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for their consideration. They also sent copies to Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), both of whom hold leading roles at the Commerce Committee, which oversees appointments at the FCC.
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While several Republican lawmakers have opposed Sohn’s appointment, alleging that she is a left-wing ideologue who favors heavy-handed regulation, censorship of conservatives, and net neutrality, other Republicans have expressed support for her based on her advocacy for more diversity in broadcasting.
