Gigi Sohn takes on FCC's network neutrality plan

Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn has been a vocal critic of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's policies. Her organization came out in force last week against his network neutrality proposal, which the FCC’s commissioners will vote on next week. Sohn said she will oppose the plan unless it is strengthened -- a decision that could help sink the top agenda item of Genachowski’s term and potentially obliterate his legacy as chairman.

After nearly two decades in Washington, Sohn walks a fine line between insider and watchdog. As Sohn’s influence in Washington has grown over the last two decades, she has not tempered her advocacy. After serving on President Obama’s advisory group on telecom issues, she made a conscious decision not to bite her tongue. “Right after Obama had been elected, one of my board members asked me, ‘What do you want Public Knowledge’s role with the new president [to be]?’ ” she said. Sohn told the board member, “Trusted adviser.” “He said, ‘No, that’s not what you want to be. You want to be the person who tells them the truth — the way that things should be,’ ” she recalls. “And he was absolutely right.”