Biden FCC Nominee Could Break Agency Impasse on Tech Issues

WASHINTON—It has been nearly three years since the U.S. Federal Communication Commission (FCC) had a full commission. Republican-leaning former commissioner Ajit Pai was the chair of the FCC during the Trump administration and left the position in 2021, leaving an even partisan split on the commission. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has been unable to confirm a fifth member to break the impasse in favor of a Democratic majority. As of late, this has led to a variety of shortcomings in being able to adopt sweeping changes in favor of open internet rules. Anna Gomez, a well-regarded telecommunications lawyer with experience in the private sector and government, is the Democratic nominee for the FCC. The White House announced Gomez’s nomination on May 22, indicating that Biden “announced his intent to nominate ... individuals to serve as key leaders in the administration.” Gomez was named with the Trump appointees on the commission already looking for renewal for their terms. Gomez currently serves as senior advisor for international information and communications policy in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. She served as a deputy administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. She has also served as counsel for the now-defunct firm Sprint Nextel and as a staffer at the FCC. “I am humbled and grateful,” said Gomez in a post to her social media. “If confirmed, I look forward to working with Chairwoman Rosenworcel and my fellow commissioners to bring the benefits of modern communications to all.” Gomez is referring to other members of the FCC, including the Democratic-leaning Jessica Rosenworcel. Rosenworcel was named to the FCC during the administration of President Barack Obama and was instrumental in adopting the landmark net neutrality rules that drastically changed the internet for the better. In 2015, the Obama-era FCC  adopted “strong net neutrality rules.” Industry groups sued to block the rules but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the regulations fully, indicating that the FCC was well within its rights as a regulator to prevent inequity in broadband speeds. Net neutrality embodies the principle that internet service providers ought to uphold impartial treatment towards all internet data and users, regardless of location and affiliation. This change requires internet service providers from engaging in practices such as accelerating, decelerating or obstructing any content, applications or sites. Protecting broadband speeds is an important issue for industries that are traditionally digitally native, such as adult, video streaming, online news media, e-commerce and general content creation. Unfortunately, during the tenure of Ajit Pai’s chairpersonship—at the behest of the telecoms, internet service providers, President Trump and the Republican Party—chose to completely rescind the net neutrality rules in favor of a free market approach. With Biden’s ascension, hope was high that he could fast-track the nomination process for a new commissioner and eventually end the split commission of two to two.  The nomination of Gomez comes at a tumultuous time. Before Gomez was nominated by President Biden, Gigi Sohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was nominated twice. Sohn was a popular choice among the Democrats and several civil liberties groups for her work in advocating for open internet rules, or net neutrality, and free speech on web platforms. Sohn was also a devout advocate for Section 230 and keeping the hallmark law that protects freedom of expression on the internet intact. Being that she held these positions and worked on a variety of issues that major telecommunications companies and internet service providers oppose, Sohn was victimized by a coordinated campaign from the far-right media, the telecoms lobby, and the Republicans for three reasons: Sohn’s queer identity, her viewpoints on net neutrality, and being accused of “countering human trafficking efforts” online through her work at the EFF. They were alluding to Sohn advocating against SESTA-FOSTA—the Trump-era law that sought to gut Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to prevent so-called “trafficking” online. SESTA-FOSTA did nothing more but freeze otherwise legal forms of speech on the web. “The FCC has been without a full Commission for ... years as President Biden’s initial nomination of attorney and consumer advocate Gigi Sohn stalled in the U.S. Senate over groundless attacks on Sohn’s record,” said Alan Butler, executive director of Electronic Privacy Information Center. Butler additionally lauded Gomez as a viable nominee for the open fifth seat on the FCC. In a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Gomez appeared to have support from the majority of Democrats in the Senate. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, the chair of the committee, named Gomez as “one of the most qualified nominees for the FCC commissioner” ever vetted by that committee. The likelihood of Gomez becoming the next FCC commissioner is hard to predict at this time. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, expressed concern for “procedural fairness” and whether Gomez will be able to deliver on behalf of the taxpayers. Note, Sen. Cruz—among other conservative members and moderate Democrats—was one of the primary instigators of the homophobic and overtly slanderous attacks on attorney Sohn.