- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- technology@lemmit.online
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- technology@lemmit.online
The US Senate today confirmed nominee Anna Gomez to the Federal Communications Commission, finally giving President Biden a Democratic majority on the telecom regulator more than two and a half years into his presidency. The vote to confirm Gomez was 55-43 and went mostly along party lines.
Biden’s first nominee was Gigi Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate who drew united opposition from Republicans and doubts from more conservative Democrats. Sohn withdrew her nomination in March 2023, blaming the cable lobby and “unlimited dark money” for scuttling her appointment. The Senate never scheduled a floor vote on Sohn.
Biden tried again in May with the nomination of Gomez, a State Department digital policy official who was previously deputy assistant secretary at the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) from 2009 to 2023. A lawyer, Gomez was vice president of government affairs at Sprint Nextel from 2006 to 2009 and before that spent about 12 years at the FCC in several roles.
Gomez got through the confirmation process with relative ease, though most Republicans voted against her. Both parties seem to expect the FCC to reinstate net neutrality rules now that Democrats will have a majority.
Net neutrality
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warned about the return of net neutrality rules when he spoke against the Gomez nomination on the Senate floor today. “If confirmed, she would give the Democrats a majority at the FCC that would enable them to impose a radical left-wing agenda, including investment-killing and job-killing so-called net neutrality rules, otherwise known as Obamacare for the Internet,” Cruz said. “I strongly oppose her nomination and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.”
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also brought up net neutrality in a floor speech today. “With three Democratic commissioners, the FCC can act swiftly to restore net neutrality and protect a free and open Internet… It has been nearly six years since the Trump FCC repealed net neutrality. We cannot wait any longer for Republicans to come to their senses. We must confirm Ms. Gomez so that the FCC can act without delay,” Markey said.
After the vote, Markey issued a statement saying that the “new majority will finally be able to use the FCC’s authority to restore their rightful authority over broadband Internet access.” That is a reference to regulating ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, the authority underpinning the former net neutrality rules.
Five Republicans voted yes
Five Republicans voted in favor of the Gomez nomination, according to the Senate Press Gallery. The Republican yes votes came from Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Todd Young of Indiana. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kans.) did not vote.
“Glad to see some Republicans showing sense. Annoyed at how many vote no on a candidate as qualified and non-controversial as this,” commented Harold Feld, senior VP and consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge.
Media advocacy group Free Press said the “unprecedented 32-month delay” that deadlocked the FCC “was the result of concerted efforts by the phone, cable, and broadcast lobbies to hamstring the agency that oversees their businesses. Gomez’s confirmation restores the agency’s full complement of commissioners and provides a tie-breaking vote on issues related to diversifying media ownership, promoting broadband affordability and protecting the rights of Internet users.”
That’s a lot of whatabout for something I never actually said.
What I did was (correctly) point out that Obama was not responsible for giving Ajit Pai the power to bring the axe down on net neutrality. Trump was.
What I didn’t say was that the Democratic Party is above reproach and that they are not complicit in decades of neoliberal policy that has fundamentally ruined any sense of equity and functional governance.
You said it yourself. There’s a fundamental difference in policy between Democrats and Republicans that makes one of those parties objectively a lot worse than the other. I think it’s unfair to point at Democrats as the triggerman in a situation where they did not take the action to do so.
Your criticisms of the party are legitimate, and I agree with them. To throw another log on the fire, Biden has changed virtually none of Trump’s abhorrent and inhumane border policies, and gets zero press coverage for not only doing nothing to end them, but in some situations make them even worse.
I would welcome the dissolution of the Democratic Party with glee. They wield a slightly smaller corporate hammer in their policy. And it makes them culpable in an enormous amount of the same crimes and unfathomably short-sighted policy.
But in this ONE instance, the Dems weren’t the ones that pulled the trigger. They appointed Wheeler, who came close, but they eventually caved. Ajit Pai was made a commissioner to make Telecom happy having a guy on the inside and giving them a voice in the FCC. Should he have been appointed in the first place? No. But that’s a failure of neoliberal policy for fetishizing compromise.
But Trump handed him the executioner’s axe, and he did it for one reason and one reason alone. And that is a difference. Wheeler was a Telecom guy, too. But he caved to pressure and backed off. When Trump appointed Pai, axing net neutrality was the first thing he did, the only thing that mattered that he accomplish, and he wasn’t going to cave under any circumstances because he literally had one job.
And my condolences. I bounced the fuck out and moved to an actually democratic country. Enjoying my universal healthcare and well-funded public infrastructure. 💀
I think we more or less agree although I am more cynical than you towards the Democrats on the FCC front. Obama didn’t appoint Pai because of compromise. Obama appointed Pai because business interests are more important than democracy.
Look at what happened during the vote to end net neutrality. They had a period of public comment. I’m not sure if you remember, but millions, iirc tens of millions of comments were made on the FCC’s website. When polled independently, the vast majority of Americans supported keeping net neutrality when explained to them what it meant. However, when looking at the comments on the FCC’s website… millions and millions were supporting the repeal. Why?
Well, it turns out that the majority of the comments were all fake. They were fabricated. The attorney general of NY released a report on it if you want to read more, but essentially the FCC was complicit in allowing these millions of fake comments in order to create the illusion that there was broad public support for this unpopular and undemocratic decision.
And what did the Dems do about it? Not a peep. Obama didn’t speak up. Clinton didn’t speak up. This is the type of thing that should demand outrage from every single person who believes in democracy. But I don’t remember anyone saying or doing anything.
Why? Because if they could have done it earlier, they would have done it themselves. Speaking out would have meant losing $$$ and support from large powerful business interests.
I’m happy for you. I’m guessing Europe? I was born in South America so I’m no stranger to false democracies. My parents grew up in a military dictatorship. I still prefer the US because while the democracy is flawed, there still exist lots of personal freedoms and protections as well as a strong economy with lots of opportunity.
I do remember that. It was a big load of horseshit. The fact that Dems don’t directly address or contest anything is kind of their whole problem and why Trump’s strategy works so well. When he commits a power grab, and you either don’t address it or go about it in the most prolonged manner possible, he’s already completed four more power grabs since you’ve addressed the first one.
That’s part of the reason I left. There’s no doubt the US is on the fascist fast-track, but I have little faith in the Democrats to do anything about it. Even Trump’s trial isn’t going to do shit.
And no, not Europe. Taiwan. Which obviously comes with its very own set of problems, but the government and society that is here currently is quite lovely, and it’s the most progressive country is Asia by far.