Policymakers

Supporters of Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] are dismissing a call by advocacy group ALLvanza for President Joe Biden to drop Sohn’s nomination in favor of a Hispanic candidate.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, "We are building a $100 million outreach grant program at the Federal Communications Commission to make sure that those who are eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program hear about it. This is a good thing. It’s also something we were told to do in the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act]. Congress specifically directed us to conduct outreach for the Affordable Connectivity Program to help ensure eligible households are enrolled.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, "This pilot program, which we are calling “Your Home, Your Internet” would not be happening today without the leadership of Commissioner Starks. He saw clearly that this was an underserved population that was called out in the law and that needed special focus. So let me call out Commissioner Starks right here and now. I am grateful for his efforts, both for what he did to help get this program going and for what he will do going forward to ensure it is a success.

The deadlock over the still-unfilled Democrat place on the five-person board of the Federal Communications Commission seems likely to continue until after November’s mid-term elections and on into 2023 – or even longer. The situation is unprecedented and has lasted for so long (over 600 days now and counting) that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is, at long last, publicly contemplating using the powers she has to put an end to the impasse via her casting vote.

Tim Wu, the White House adviser helping to drive the administration’s push to rein in corporate giants with tougher antitrust enforcement is planning to leave his position in the coming months. Wu is expected to return to teaching at Columbia Law School after a roughly year-and-a-half as special assistant to President Biden for technology and competition policy. Wu was part of a trio of antitrust hawks President Joe Biden installed in 2021 as part of a push to curb the power of sprawling companies — a fight that has focused in particular on tech titans like Amazon and Google.

The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) announced the departure of Senior Vice President Susan Walters to become the US Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Regional Director of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) with responsibility for the States of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Hawaii. Susan Walters was a founding team leader when CETF began operations in 2006.

The Senate Commerce Committee approved two bipartisan bills to protect children online, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director nominee, Dr. Arati Prabhakar, the Transportation Security Administration Administrator nominee, David Pekoske, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce nominee, Susie Feliz, and Donald R. Cravins, the nominee to be Undersecretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development. Led by Sens.

Technologist Jason Hardebeck is no longer serving as the City of Baltimore’s director of broadband and digital equity. And Hardebeck’s former department, the Mayor’s Office of Broadband and Digital Equity (BDE), will no longer be housed within the Mayor’s Office. BDE is now located within the Baltimore City Office of Information and Technology (BCIT). Kenya Asli, BCIT’s director of strategic initiatives, will be the interim director of broadband and digital equity until a permanent hire for the position is found.

It’s been 18 months since President Joe Biden was inaugurated. Yet restoring crucial net neutrality rules that are the foundation for an open internet continues to languish in Washington (DC). The problem stems from Democratic lawmakers’ inability to confirm Biden’s nominee, Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], to the Federal Communications Commission. She is needed to break the 2-2 deadlock on the FCC that continues to block action on net neutrality and broadband privacy regulations.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced several changes to his team. Austin Bonner, Acting Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor for media and consumer protection issues, has departed Starks’s office. She heads to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on detail. Justin Faulb, Starks’s Wireline and National Security Advisor, will serve as Chief of Staff. Joining the office as Legal Advisor for media and consumer protection issues is Hannah Lepow.