Policymakers

Howard Trienens, a lawyer who guided the breakup of telecommunications colossus AT&T during the 1980s, excelled at distilling complex problems into solutions his clients could support.

Jessica Rosenworcel just gaveled her seventh monthly meeting as Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman and left-leaning telecom industry observers are growing increasingly anxious about the White House’s lack of a permanent choice. Speculation has run rampant about potential contenders, from former Obama-era FCC staffer Gigi Sohn to Free Press co-CEO Jessica González to sitting Commissioners Geoffrey Starks. The normally five-member FCC has been short a commissioner since January, and the resulting 2-2 deadlock has stalled Democratic agenda items like restoring net neutrality.

This is a historic time for broadband investment. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the high costs of being offline. In response, Congress, over the past year, passed two laws—the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan—with an unprecedented amount of funding devoted to promoting digital equity. Communities should be engaged now to help craft long-term connectivity goals and ensure that diverse voices are part of the discussion—and that’s our job.

Few probably would have guessed that the telecommunications industry would still be waiting around in late July for the Biden Administration to name a permanent Federal Communications Commission chair, but that’s where things stand. One name that has been floated in recent weeks is that of long-time public activist Gigi Sohn [a senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], who was on the staff of former Chairman Tom Wheeler and led the consumer group Public Knowledge for more than a decade.

The Federal Communications Commission is re-establishing the Technological Advisory Council on or before August 20, 2021 for a period of two years, with an expected first meeting in October of 2021.The FCC seeks nominations for membership and a chairperson. The TAC provides technical advice to the Commission and makes recommendations on the issues and questions presented to it. Among other issues, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will ask the TAC to start looking beyond 5G and conceptualize 6G, to help set the stage for U.S. leadership.

The head-scratching inside the Beltway continues as the wait for a fifth Beatle... um, er... Federal Communications Commissioner — and for whoever is to be named the agency’s permanent chair — continues.

President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Jonathan Kanter for Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice. Kanter is a distinguished antitrust lawyer with over 20 years of experience. Throughout his career, Kanter has also been a leading advocate and expert in the effort to promote strong and meaningful antitrust enforcement and competition policy.

House Republicans launched a GOP caucus on Big Tech, seeking to build support for antitrust changes despite a divide among Republicans. The "Freedom from Big Tech Caucus" is co-chaired by House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee top Republican Ken Buck (R-CO) and Rep Lance Gooden (R-TX), and counts Rep Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) as a vice chair.

Sen Steve Daines (R-MT) introduced the Preserving Political Speech Online Act (S.2338) to crack down on Big Tech and online platforms’ ability to discriminate against users based on their political speech and beliefs. Daines’ bill would enforce equal access to political candidates on online platforms as well as create a provision to prohibit the removal of content based on political beliefs. The Preserving Political Speech Online Act will: