The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is in charge of regulations governing telecommunications. It’s meant to have five commissioners, including the chair, but there has been a vacancy for over a year. Without a fifth member, the FCC has been at a 2-2 stalemate on a range of issues, effectively blocking action on net neutrality and progress on issues like expansion of broadband access.
President Biden nominated Gigi Sohn in 2021 to fill the vacancy, but pressure from giant media corporations has stalled her confirmation this whole time. The deadlock leaves Comcast and the rest of the telecom industry with far less oversight — just the way these corporations prefer.
Sohn has advocated for equal and democratic access to the internet in both governmental and non-governmental sectors for decades. She has been a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy as well as a Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. She has direct experience with the FCC as Counselor to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler from 2013 to 2016. Join us, along with advocacy groups like Common Cause and Demand Progress, in telling our senators and President Biden: Gigi Sohn has our full support. We need her on the FCC right away.
Contact your Senators and tell them: advance Gigi Sohn’s nomination now!
Public Comment on Privacy Rights in California
As per the California Privacy Rights Act passed in 2020, California will implement and enforce regulations on businesses and organizations regarding the use of consumers’ personal information. Areas of regulation include cybersecurity audits, assessing the risk to consumers’ privacy, potential for algorithmic discrimination and more. You can participate in the process of regulation by submitting your ideas in a public comment.
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) has issued an invitation for public comment and a description of the areas on which the public is asked to weigh in.
Comments are accepted by mail or e-mail through 5 PM on Monday, March 27, 2023. See the CPPA website for details.
If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens.
Indivisible SF Federal Working Group: Thursday, Feb. 23, 7:30–9 PM. Planning meeting where we discuss strategy to influence our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to enact a progressive agenda. Meeting starts promptly at 7:30 PM. All are welcome. Register here!
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today’s image is a graphic from a Common Cause petition supporting Gigi Sohn’s nomination.
Keep Fighting,
