Senate finally confirms fifth FCC commissioner. Agency must immediately get to work restoring net neutrality and addressing online privacy

After more than two years of inexcusable delays amid an industry smear campaign targeting former nominee Gigi Sohn, the U.S. Senate has finally confirmed Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Digital rights group Fight for the Future, known for helping organize some of the largest online protests in human history in defense of net neutrality, issued the following statement, which can be attributed to the group’s director, Evan Greer (she/her):

The FCC can’t afford to waste a single second. Now that the agency has a full slate of commissioners, they should move immediately to reverse Trump’s disastrous repeal of net neutrality and reinstate basic oversight of telecom monopolies. Restoring Title II net neutrality in full should be a given. But there is so much more that the FCC can and should be doing to close the digital divide and protect human rights and free expression. The FCC should conduct a rulemaking on privacy, and use every ounce of authority it has to crack down on the collection and sale of sensitive information like cell phone location data, which can be used to target people engaging in First Amendment protected activities or people seeking abortion and gender affirming care. And the agency should adopt the strongest possible rules against digital discrimination in November, doing everything in its power to crack down on discrimination within the telecom industry and ensure marginalized communities have access to an affordable, open Internet, free from censorship and surveillance. 

Finally, the Senate must act quickly to re-confirm Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to ensure that there are no more disruptions in the FCC’s ability to do its job: protecting the American public’s right to communicate and access information. And Congress should pass the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act, to ensure that the essential human right to connect is protected as administrations come and go in the future.

Fight for the Future has helped millions of people take action on broadband justice issues and helps maintain BattleForTheNet.com, a hub site for net neutrality action. Learn more at https://www.fightforthefuture.org 

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