{"id":1028925,"date":"2023-03-17T20:31:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T20:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fair.org\/?p=9032699"},"modified":"2023-03-17T20:31:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T20:31:53","slug":"action-alert-trump-rules-remain-at-fcc-as-democrats-cave-to-big-cable-fox-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/03\/17\/action-alert-trump-rules-remain-at-fcc-as-democrats-cave-to-big-cable-fox-news\/","title":{"rendered":"ACTION ALERT: Trump Rules Remain at FCC as Democrats Cave to Big Cable, Fox News"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Remember Ajit Pai<\/a>, the former Verizon<\/b> lawyer Trump put in charge of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)? When he gutted net neutrality rules and kneecapped<\/a> the agency\u2019s ability to regulate telecom monopolies, voters from across the political spectrum were outraged. The internet erupted<\/a> in protest.<\/p>\n

\"The

Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to popular opinion by promising to restore net neutrality rules (The Hill<\/strong>, 3\/20\/19<\/a>).<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Millions of people from across the political spectrum called<\/a> their elected officials and submitted comments to the FCC, and thousands<\/a> took to the streets. It was a rare moment of genuinely popular public revolt that defied partisan DC logic. If there\u2019s one thing everyone can agree on, it\u2019s that we don\u2019t want our cable or phone company screwing us over more than they already do, selling our browsing habits and real-time location to advertisers, or dictating what websites we can visit or which apps we use.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the FCC\u2019s net neutrality rules\u2014banning Internet Service Providers from blocking apps, throttling, discriminating or charging scammy fees\u2014were overwhelmingly popular<\/a> with the general public, regardless of political views.<\/p>\n

When Pai repealed those rules, Democrats capitalized on the moment, loudly proclaiming<\/a> that they were the party that would stand up to Big Cable and their deep-pocketed lobbyists. In speeches<\/a> and fundraising emails<\/a>, they promised they would fix this mess if they regained the White House.<\/p>\n

Trump lost the election. But astonishingly, two years into the Biden administration, Trump still more or less runs the FCC. Pai is no longer employed at the agency, but his disastrous policies remain firmly in place. And unless we rekindle some of that collective outrage we felt when net neutrality was repealed, it\u2019s looking increasingly likely that those Trump-era handouts to abusive telecom giants will continue for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Dark money smears<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"NBC:

Right-wing media responded to Gigi Sohn’s nomination with a homophobic smear campaign (NBC<\/strong>, 2\/3\/23<\/a>).<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Last week, Gigi Sohn, who had been Biden\u2019s nominee to fill the FCC\u2019s crucial fifth seat, withdrew<\/a> her nomination. Sohn is an eminently qualified<\/a> candidate and well-known public interest champion who has dedicated her career to closing the digital divide. She was also a historic pick<\/a>: the first openly LGBTQ nominee to the position. With Democrats holding the Senate majority, she should have been swiftly confirmed.<\/p>\n

Instead, her nomination languished<\/a>, as she faced a months-long, industry-funded smear campaign<\/a>. Front groups for cable and phone companies flooded swing states with false and misleading ads<\/a>. Pundits painted<\/a> Sohn as \u201canti-police\u201d because she had liked a few tweets in support of Black Lives Matter.<\/p>\n

The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) piled on<\/a>, painting Sohn as dangerous because she sits on the board of the highly respected Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which rightly opposes government backdoors in encrypted messaging (an issue the FCC has zero jurisdiction over, by the way).<\/p>\n

The FOP has a longstanding reputation<\/a> for \u201cpay-to-play\u201d lobbying. The group\u2019s executive director, Jim Pasco, maintains<\/a> a lucrative side business lobbying for corporations, which has sparked controversy when the FOP mysteriously adopts positions favorable to his outside clients. Pasco\u2019s wife, Cybele Daley, was<\/a> a registered lobbyist for AT&T as recently as 2009. She is currently the vice president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), copyright-maximalist lobbyists for Hollywood frequently criticized<\/a> by Public Knowledge, the free expression nonprofit that Sohn co-founded.<\/p>\n

The FOP has never been known to take a position on FCC nominations in the past. Its arrival to the fight seems suspicious at best.<\/p>\n

Other groups opposing Sohn\u2019s nomination are even more clearly paid shills for the telecom industry, like the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, which has been exposed<\/a> in the past for \u201castroturfing\u201d on behalf of telecom companies. Don\u2019t forget these same companies were caught red-handed<\/a> orchestrating a massive flood of fraudulent comments praising the net neutrality rules repeal that were submitted to the FCC in 2017, using real people\u2019s stolen information.<\/p>\n

Emboldened by industry-funded smears and Republican talking points, the right-wing media machine started cranking out even more slime, culminating in blatantly homophobic<\/a>, QAnon conspiracy\u2013style attacks attempting to paint Sohn as some kind of sexual deviant or predator. A particularly nasty and dishonest article in the Daily Mail<\/b> (1\/26\/23) included a photo of Sohn and her wife.<\/p>\n

Democrats could have stood up to these utterly disingenuous attacks. Party leaders could have forcefully condemned the smear campaign at any of the three Senate hearings that Sohn testified at, and made it clear that Senate Democrats wouldn\u2019t allow homophobia and corruption to derail a qualified nominee\u2019s confirmation process. Instead, they hung Sohn out to dry. Senate Democratic leadership, including Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell (D.\u2013Wash.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.\u2013N.Y.), were shamefully silent about the homophobia and lies hurled at their party\u2019s nominee.<\/p>\n

The FOP\u2019s leadership has a long history<\/a> of racist and bigoted comments, and has routinely opposed<\/a> police reforms. The organization endorsed<\/a> Donald Trump for President. Twice. But in the end, a small handful of Senate Democrats chose<\/a> to side with the FOP, Big Telecom and Fox News<\/b> over labor unions, environmental groups, LGBTQ+ organizations, civil rights leaders, teachers, librarians, human rights advocates and small business associations\u2014more than 400 in all<\/a>\u2014who supported Sohn\u2019s confirmation.<\/p>\n

And in the process, they handed Republicans a blueprint for how to sink any future nominee they don\u2019t like, especially if they happen to be gay. It\u2019s not just shameful, it\u2019s an embarrassing strategic failure.<\/p>\n

The battle for the net<\/b><\/h3>\n

So what happens next? Biden will have to nominate someone else to fill the FCC\u2019s fifth seat. We can be sure that lobbyists for the likes of Comcast<\/b>, Verizon<\/b> and AT&T<\/b> are already circulating their lists of \u201capproved\u201d candidates. And, given everything that has happened, we have every reason to be worried that Biden could take one of those names.<\/p>\n

If the industry gets to install its preferred commissioner for the crucial fifth deciding vote, it will effectively own the agency that\u2019s supposed to regulate it. Just like it did when Ajit Pai was in charge.<\/p>\n

\"Vice:

The stakes are too high to let the FCC coast on under policies set by Donald Trump (Vice<\/strong>, 11\/17\/21<\/a>).<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

We can\u2019t let that happen. The stakes are too high. The pandemic only exacerbated the digital divide<\/a>, and ended any debate over whether access to affordable high-speed Internet is a \u201cnecessity\u201d or not. Kids were sitting outside<\/a> of Taco Bell using the wi-fi to go to school on Zoom<\/b>. There is absolutely no reason we cannot ensure that every single child in this country has access to an internet connection they can use for school\u2014except that for too long the agency tasked with protecting the public interest has been captured by the industry it\u2019s supposed to oversee.<\/p>\n

As Big Tech has gotten bigger, net neutrality has only become more important. While attention in DC has shifted from Comcast and Verizon to Amazon and Instagram, the problems with monopoly power<\/a> and surveillance capitalism are widespread. Unless net neutrality rules are revived, it\u2019s only a matter of time before Big Tech giants start cutting deals<\/a> with Big Telecom gatekeepers, crushing competition from smaller players and startups and solidifying their dominance.<\/p>\n

Beyond restoring Title II oversight<\/a> and net neutrality protections, the FCC could use its rulemaking authority to crack down on cell phone carriers’ shady data collection<\/a> practices. Stopping the collection and abuse of cell phone location data is one of the most concrete things the Federal government can do to protect<\/a> the privacy and safety of people seeking, providing and facilitating abortions. One data broker was exposed<\/a> selling the location data of people who had entered Planned Parenthood clinics. The FCC could also investigate and crack down<\/a> on certain types of surveillance devices, like Amazon<\/b>\u2019s creepy flying Ring drones.<\/p>\n

But they can\u2019t do any of that until the Senate confirms a fifth commissioner. And they won\u2019t<\/i> do any of that if that fifth commissioner is a sleeper agent for the telecom industry. So it\u2019s time to get organized.<\/p>\n

This morning, more than 60 civil society organizations sent a letter<\/a> to President Joe Biden, calling on him to \u201cimmediately put forth a new nominee\u201d who:<\/p>\n