Finally! Fight for the Future welcomes FCC nominees, calls on lawmakers to swiftly confirm them so the agency can get back to work and restore net neutrality
Today, the Biden Administration announced its nominations for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has been appointed as permanent chair of the agency, and Gigi Sohn has been nominated as the fifth commissioner. The confirmation of the nominees will bring an end to the current deadlock, allowing the agency to begin repairing the damage caused by former Verizon lawyer and Trump FCC Chair Ajit Pai.
The following statement can be attributed to Fight for the Future director Evan Greer (she/her):
“Fight for the Future offers an enthusiastic ‘hell yeah’ at the news that Gigi Sohn will be nominated as the 5th commissioner of the FCC and Jessica Rosenworcel will be nominated as the permanent chair. Jessica has been a steadfast champion of net neutrality and broadband access, and Gigi is one of the fiercest, most passionate, and most experienced public interest advocates the telecom policy space has ever known.
These nominations could not come soon enough. Lawmakers should act swiftly to confirm these nominees so that the FCC can get back to work. Restoring Title II authority and net neutrality are just the beginning. We need the FCC to do everything in its power to ensure universal access to affordable broadband, protect privacy, free expression, and civil rights, and protect the public from the monopoly power and abuses of telecom monopolies.
It’s essential that the Biden administration and the Senate prioritize this. Restoring net neutrality is an essential tool in the toolbox not just for providing oversight of Internet providers, but also for reining in Big Tech companies. If giants like Facebook, Google, and Amazon can cut zero rating or prioritization deals with telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon, it will forever crystalize the monopoly power of these mega-corporations, and we’ll be stuck with their harmful business practices forever.
Ajit Pai’s repeal of net neutrality sparked some of the largest online protests in human history. It was one of the most unpopular policy changes of the last decade. It’s long past time to right that wrong and get the FCC back to work fighting for our basic rights in the digital age.”
Fight for the Future is a digital rights group known for building the technology and messaging behind many of the largest online protests in human history, from the SOPA blackout to the Internet-Wide Day of Action for Net Neutrality, which drove more than 2 million emails and calls to Congress in a single day. The group also built BattleForTheNet.com, a hub site for net neutrality activism that has helped drive tens of millions of contacts to lawmakers and the FCC.