Jessica Gonzalez

The New Yorker recently published a piece about the work of the American Accountability Foundation (A.A.F.) — a dark-money group aiming to sabotage the Biden administration’s agenda by torpedoing the confirmation of nominees to fill critical roles across the government. The group brags about having stopped the confirmation of nominees like Saule Omarova, Biden’s pick to be comptroller of the currency, and Sarah Bloom Raskin, who the pr

While we’ll remain vigilant for whatever a lame-duck President Donald Trump — or let’s face it, the year 2020 — might bring, we will be putting our collective energy toward repairing the damage done over the past four years, while diligently working to expand what’s possible in a Joe Biden administration and new Congress. Our immediate priorities include:

On April 2, Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr responded to a right-wing blogger’s question about a recent Free Press petition urging the agency to help prevent the spread of false COVID-19 information via broadcast outlets. Commissioner Carr said: “This is a sweeping and dangerous attempt by the far left to weaponize the FCC against conservative media outlets and elected officials. They want to turn the FCC into a roving speech police empowered to go after the left’s political opponents."

The Trump Federal Communications Commission’s overzealous efforts to remove broadband providers from any obligations to protect internet users defies what Congress clearly intended for these critical communications services. Our national goal of achieving universal broadband service faces several roadblocks without the FCC’s Title II authority. The agency will also have difficulty upholding public safety if we don’t restore this crucial legal standard. These harms are already playing out. Feb.

A proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, the country’s third- and fourth-largest wireless operators, would have a profound impact on Californians. Wireless prices will rise so the merger will be particularly onerous for customers on tight budgets. In California especially, low-income customers tend to be people of color and immigrants. The merger would therefore disproportionately burden this vulnerable group — many of whom rely on cellphones as their only form of internet access.

Internet platforms like Facebook, Google and Twitter use core algorithms to intentionally gather likeminded people and feed them self-validating content that elicits powerful reactions. Combine this with the platforms’ ability to finely target messaging and ads and you’ve created a potent formula for the virulent spread of disinformation, propaganda and hate. In response, more than three-dozen racial justice and civil rights organizations—including our group, Free Press—have spent more than a year evaluating the role of technology in fomenting hate.

People with low incomes often have to make difficult choices about how to spend their money to best support their families. This is why so many people are still living without internet access. And those without reliable home internet access are missing out on opportunities to connect to jobs, complete homework and engage in our democracy. Since his promotion to chairman, Ajit Pai has taken steps to limit Lifeline broadband options and has essentially frozen Lifeline implementation. Thanks to the outcry from nearly 40 advocacy groups — including Free Press — Chairman Pai is now inviting public comment on his decision to stop nine companies from providing broadband service to Lifeline customers. That’s why we need to seize this opportunity and urge Pai to help bridge the digital divide. Tell him to revoke his decision on the nine companies and move forward on implementing the Lifeline Modernization Order now.

Free Press delivered a letter to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency’s new leadership to take serious strides toward closing the digital divide by making broadband more affordable. New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai recently claimed that closing the divide was going to be “one of his core priorities” during his tenure.

The Free Press letter commends Chairman Pai for this new focus, but strikes a note of caution given his prior track record as a commissioner. “No matter how laudable the new chairman’s sentiment may be, his proposals to close that divide could be ineffective — and even harmful,” Free Press warns. “The Commission must not subsidize build-out that is already occurring in the market, and yet not even address the primary structural barrier keeping tens of millions of people offline: affordability of the services already available to them.” ”Our research contains many similar findings that all point to the same conclusion: the root cause of the adoption gap is the lack of affordability, and that is an outcome created primarily by a market structure that produces too few affordable choices and suboptimal competition. The adoption gap is an affordability gap,” the Free Press letter reads. Pai’s preliminary plan focuses on giving significant tax breaks to the handful of ISPs that control the broadband-access marketplace. Pai proposes using taxpayer dollars to fund the construction of gigabit networks in below-average-income neighborhoods, despite the fact that most of these deployment projects are already underway. His plan does nothing to make these services affordable.

[Commentary] The future of a free, open, and affordable internet lies in the hands of our next president. The next four years will be crucial to developing the infrastructure and policies that shape the experience of Americans online - and determine if they can participate at all. If the internet is to serve the needs of all Americans, we can't afford to waste this opportunity. If we are to build a country that is equitable and just, where economic opportunity is available to all, and where diverse voices have an equal say in our politics, our nation's internet policy must reflect these values as well. Yet, for many Americans, especially people of color, access is out of reach. The digital divide is real, and filling in the gaps is crucial to prosperity not only for individuals, but for the country as a whole.

As people of color become a larger proportion of our population, we need to make sure we arm these future leaders with the basic tools that will help them achieve their goals and give back to their neighbors. The future of education, our economy, and civic engagement depend on ensuring that as many Americans as possible have access to affordable high-speed internet. If we are to build equitable education systems and promote economic opportunity for all, we need policies that will not only increase high-speed internet access, but make sure that it is affordable as well. Yet, as we work to expand access, we also need to make sure that we stay true to the principles that have made the internet such a powerful tool.

A free and open internet creates more opportunities for diverse voices to organize, to share our stories and to transform culture, attitudes and beliefs about Latinos and other groups that have faced discrimination from mainstream American culture. In these ways, an affordable and open internet helps to create a more inclusive and accepting society, to break down barriers and to counteract fear and hate. Public policy should promote these values and ensure that the diversity of our nation is reflected in our media.

[González is executive vice president and general counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition]