Free Press
People in the United States Are Paying a Steep Price for Two Years Without a Fully Functional FCC
We’re now marking two years without a fully functional Federal Communications Commission. Never before has the American public had to wait so long for an FCC confirmation. This senseless delay has been driven by a bigoted, vicious and fact-free smear campaign coordinated by telephone, cable and broadcast industry lobbyists and right-wing operatives. The Senate must end this senseless charade and confirm Sohn.
Change the Terms Coalition Calls on Mark Zuckerberg to Heed the Jan. 6 Committee's Warnings and Permanently Ban Donald Trump (Free Press)
Submitted by dclay@benton.org on Fri, 01/20/2023 - 10:12
Color Of Change, Free Press Action and MediaJustice Urge Senate Leaders to Reject Bigoted Smear Campaign Against FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn
Color Of Change, Free Press Action and MediaJustice urged the Senate to confirm Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during the final days of the 117th Congress. "We are deeply concerned that antisemitic, homophobic, and racist smears against Sohn have contributed to the inaction of the Senate on her confirmation.
Free Press Calls on the FCC to Investigate the Causes of Communication Outages in Puerto Rico Following September Hurricane (Free Press)
Submitted by benton on Thu, 11/03/2022 - 16:12
Groups Urge FCC to Make Internet Billing Transparent and Fair with Broadband Label
More than 30 consumer advocates, broadband-data experts, and digital-rights groups sent a letter calling on the Federal Communications Commission to help consumers avoid “junk fees” by creating a broadband consumer label that is clear and visible on monthly internet bills. The label, which Congress directed the FCC to create as part of the 2021 infrastructure law, has been pending before the FCC since January.
Civil-Society Groups Call on Twitter’s Top-20 Advertisers to Demand that Elon Musk Fulfill His Promise to Safeguard Their Brands and Protect Users
More than 40 civil-society groups called on Twitter’s top-20 advertisers to inform Elon Musk that they will suspend all advertising on the platform if he follows through on plans to undermine the social network’s community standards and content moderation.
Report | Empty Promises: Inside Big Tech's Weak Effort to Fight Hate and Lies in 2022 (Free Press)
Submitted by Grace Tepper on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 13:11
The Senate Gets an 'F' in FCC for Failing to Confirm Public-Interest Advocate Gigi Sohn After a Year of Senseless Delays
It's been one year since President Biden nominated Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to the Federal Communications Commission. Since then, the FCC has remained deadlocked 2–2 as Sohn has faced an underhanded campaign by deep-pocketed phone, cable, and broadcast companies seeking to hamstring the agency that oversees their businesses. No other nominee in the FCC’s history has had to wait so long for a confirmation vote in the Senate.