Government & Communications

A political commitment by the United States and 60 partners from around the globe to advance a positive vision for the Internet and digital technologies. It reclaims the promise of the Internet in the face of the global opportunities and challenges presented by the 21^st century. It also reaffirms and recommits its partners to a single global Internet—one that is truly open and fosters competition, privacy, and respect for human rights. The Declaration’s principles include commitments to:

• Protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people;

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced several changes to his team. William Davenport, Starks’s Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Advisor, will be leaving the FCC at the end of April 2022. Austin Bonner, Starks’s legal advisor for media and consumer protection issues, will serve as Acting Chief of Staff. Commissioner Starks said, “For over three years, Bill has led my office’s efforts to improve the equity, security, and sustainability of our nation’s communications sector.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to Sens Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in response to their letter on the FCC’s efforts to implement the Broadband Deployment Locations Map. In the April 15, 2022 letter, Rosenworcel said the FCC began efforts to implement the broadband map following the enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to open a proceeding to explore options for promoting improvements in radio frequency (RF) receiver performance, including through use of incentives, industry-led voluntary approaches, FCC policy and guidance, or regulatory requirements.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed to strengthen the effectiveness of Wireless Emergency Alerts, including through public reporting on the reliability, speed, and accuracy of these messages. The FCC seeks comment on:

Some former Democratic members of Congress have joined what is increasingly a concerted effort to block the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow & Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], President Joe Biden‘s nominee to the open Democratic seat on the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC presently stands at a 2-2 political tie, as it has been since before Biden took office.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to letters by members of Congress inquiring about the FCC's spectrum auction program. In separate letters to House Representatives and Senators, Rosenworcel responded to questions about related topics including upcoming spectrum auctions, specific frequencies that may be good candidates for auction, and policy changes the agency can make to improve the program.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr announced that Michael Nemcik has joined his office as Acting Legal Advisor, having previously served the office as an intern in 2019. Michael will be standing in for Danielle Thumann, Commissioner Carr’s Legal Advisor since March 2021, while she is on maternity leave. Michael joins Commissioner Carr’s office from the Wireline Competition Bureau’s Competition Policy Division where he focuses on various robocall mitigation and numbering issues.

The campaign against Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to serve on the Supreme Court was spearheaded by a new conservative dark-money group that was created in 2020: the American Accountability Foundation (AAF). An explicit purpose of the AAF—a politically active, tax-exempt nonprofit charity that doesn’t disclose its backers—is to prevent the approval of all Biden Administration nominees. The AAF’s approach represents a new escalation in partisan warfare, and underscores the growing role that secret spending has played in deepening the polarization in Washington.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the agenda for its upcoming Open Commission Meeting on April 21, 2022. The following items are on the agenda: