https://issuesinsights.com/2022/02/23/another-biden-nominee-who-deserves-to-be-dumped/
Of the more controversial nominees to come out of the Biden administration, Gigi Sohn, the President’s pick to be a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), might be facing the broadest opposition of all.
A second confirmation hearing further revealed deep-seated concerns about her policy positions, past statements and actions on critical issues, and unprecedented and eyebrow-raising ethical issues. The White House even managed to hurt its relationship with allied organizations due to an opaque and seemingly disingenuous nomination process.
The FCC is an independent federal agency that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Among its fundamental mission, the agency is supposed to promote competition and innovation, and work toward a media regulatory framework to ensure “that new technologies flourish alongside diversity and localism.”
In a highly regulated sector like telecom, ownership, and market participation are especially vital for underserved communities. FCC overreach can easily make it more difficult to own a radio or TV station or reduce the investment needed to bring broadband connectivity to underserved areas, including the 991 majority Latino rural counties in the U.S., for example.
As advisor to previous FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler during President Obama’s second term, Sohn spearheaded a push for regulation that would have enabled big tech companies to effectively use content from smaller programmers, including many Hispanic and other minority-owned ventures, without paying them for their intellectual property.