Commerce Committee advances FCC, FTC nominations to full Senate vote

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced two of U.S. President Joe Biden's picks for the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to a full Senate vote, but an even split on one nominee signals that confirmation is uncertain.

Senators voted in a vast majority Dec. 1 to push acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel forward to a full Senate vote, which will be scheduled on a future date. For FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, the vote was split down the middle, which still allowed his full confirmation vote to go to the full Senate.

If confirmed, Rosenworcel would be the first FCC chairwoman, while legal scholar Bedoya would provide the FTC with a Democratic majority and likely tackle regulations regarding privacy and the use of facial recognition technology.

The committee's vote comes after both nominees testified Nov. 17 before Democratic and Republican senators who weighed their nominations.

Battle over Bedoya

For Bedoya, committee Republicans voted "no" on approval due to concerns about divisive views he has expressed online in the past, some of which were discussed in his nomination hearing with Rosenworcel Nov. 17.

Despite Republican opposition, advancing Bedoya's nomination to a full Senate vote is a "real watershed moment" for the FTC, which has been pursuing an aggressive agenda to rein in the dominance of Big Tech firms under agency Chair Lina Khan, said Alex Petros, policy counsel for Public Knowledge, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest group.

The FTC has been laying the groundwork on several initiatives, including updating merger guidelines and filing new antitrust cases, but those efforts are not likely to move forward until Bedoya is officially in office.

"All that stuff will possibly be on hold while they wait for their fifth vote," Petros said of the five-seat commission.

Bedoya is also expected to add momentum to potential federal privacy legislation, which has stalled despite strong interest on Capitol Hill.

Rosenworcel's easier path

Rosenworcel is expected to see a smooth confirmation process, given her long-time tenure with the FCC and Capitol Hill relationships. Still, Rosenworcel cannot act on more partisan telecom topics such as restoring net neutrality protections until Biden's other Democratic FCC pick, Gigi Sohn, is confirmed.

"Gigi is really the linchpin to many of the things that Rosenworcel wants to proceed on but doesn't have the votes on under the current 2-2 commission," Ernesto Falcon, senior counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a Nov. 29 interview. Sohn sits on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Biden encouraged the FCC to reinstate net neutrality protections that prohibit broadband service providers from blocking or throttling legal internet traffic or prioritizing certain traffic for payment. To reinstate those protections, the FCC, under Rosenworcel's leadership, will seek to once again reclassify broadband as a Title II telecom service, giving the agency more regulatory authority over broadband service providers such as Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.

In 2018, under Republican leadership, the FCC classified broadband as a Title I information service and eliminated the FCC's authority to enforce net neutrality protections. The FCC has a transparency rule that requires internet service providers to disclose publicly when traffic is blocked, throttled or prioritized.

Rosenworcel expressed interest in collaborating with the FTC on broadband regulation and other unspecified matters. "It's my hope that we'll work with our colleagues at the Federal Trade Commission on a whole range of issues," Rosenworcel told S&P Global Market Intelligence in a Nov. 18 press call.

Broadband maps

Besides net neutrality, Rosenworcel will also be tasked with creating updated broadband maps, a process that will involve collaboration with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., in opening remarks once again pushed for Rosenworcel's confirmation, emphasizing the need for the FCC to deploy accurate broadband mapping.

"These maps are absolutely critical to ensuring fair and accurate distribution of broadband in the infrastructure package," Wicker said at the hearing.

Alan Davidson of the Mozilla Foundation was selected by Biden to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the executive branch agency under the U.S. Commerce Department responsible for advising the president on telecom and information policy issues. Both Davidson and Sohn testified immediately following Bedoya's and Rosenworcel's advancement.