Two of U.S. President Joe Biden's nominees to manage America's vast telecommunications priorities met tough questioning from lawmakers, but one in particular faces a rocky path to confirmation.
Gigi Sohn, nominated to sit as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, and Alan Davidson, nominated to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, both testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on Dec. 1. While both fielded questions about net neutrality, broadband mapping, budget management and willingness to remain politically independent in their roles, it was Sohn's past public statements that seemed to attract the most scrutiny.
In opening remarks, Sohn noted the right to free expression and acknowledged past support of progressive broadband policies but said she is always willing to sit down with stakeholders who disagree.
Past tweets
Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, questioned Sohn's tweets that criticized FOX News Channel (US), such as a November 2020 tweet suggesting Fox News was more dangerous to democracy than social media companies. "It's state-sponsored propaganda, with few if any opposing viewpoints," Sohn said at the time.
Another tweet in 2018 suggested that the U.S. Justice Department block Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.'s planned merger with Tribune Media Co. — a deal that was terminated after it failed to win approval from the Republican-led FCC. Tribune is now a part of Nexstar Media Group Inc.
"It was part of my job as a public interest advocate," Sohn said.
"My opinions as a public interest advocate will have no bearing on me as a policymaker," Sohn added.
Net neutrality and competition
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., asked Sohn if the FCC has the authority it needs to reinstate net neutrality protections that would prohibit broadband service providers from blocking or throttling legal internet traffic or prioritizing certain traffic for payment. To reinstate those protections, the FCC would seek to once again reclassify broadband as a Title II telecommunications 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.
Sohn said the FCC has the authority to do these things.
However, the Title II classification is controversial and unpopular among many in the broadband industry because it not only gives the FCC the regulatory authority to impose net neutrality rules, but it also technically enables the agency to regulate broadband rates. Under former President Barack Obama, the FCC said the agency would forbear from controlling prices.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked if repealing net neutrality prevented the FCC from executing its broadband deployment efforts, to which Sohn said no. When asked about rate regulation, Sohn said she did not support price controls, though Blackburn argued that Sohn supported such regulations in the past.
Sohn later said she would like to see a comprehensive privacy bill, which could only occur after net neutrality is reinstated with a full, five-person commission.
Broadband maps
As for Davidson, he said closing the digital divide would be his top priority if selected to run the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, the executive branch agency under the U.S. Commerce Department that is principally responsible for advising the president on telecommunications and information policy issues.
"As the pandemic made clear, people need broadband," Davidson said.
Davidson and Sohn both faced several questions about broadband mapping, one of the FCC and the NTIA's greatest challenges over the years.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., expressed hesitancy to advance Davidson's vote forward until both Davidson and the commerce secretary committed to accurate mapping.
"The maps have been a problem for years," Davidson said, adding that he would tackle the issue. "We've known it, we need to fix it."
On timing concerns, Sohn was unable to provide an answer on when accurate maps could be rolled out.
"You can't make good policy without good maps," Sohn said, adding that she hopes FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel would task her with working on mapping and be a liaison to state governments.
Broadband maps were a major discussion point when Rosenworcel testified to the Senate last month. Rosenworcel said more collaboration with the Commerce Department will be necessary to best use the dollars allotted for mapping priorities in the infrastructure package.
Path to confirmation
Cantwell told the press after the hearing that she thought Sohn testified well, though the senator did not specify if she thought there were enough votes to move to a full Senate confirmation. Cantwell alluded to the committee's vote on partisan lines to advance Biden's Federal Trade Commission pick, Alvaro Bedoya, earlier in the day.
Still, the senator, who chairs the Commerce Committee, said she is hopeful the decision to move Davidson and Sohn to a full Senate vote will occur before the end of the year.
"The Senate will still have time" before the year is up, said Greg Guice, director of government affairs at communications advocacy group Public Knowledge, which Sohn co-founded in 2001. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed petitions asking for the FCC to get to a full slate, Guice added.
Craig Aaron, co-CEO of media freedom group Free Press, agreed and said the Senate has clearly made these nominations a priority. Aaron pointed to the committee's move Dec. 1 to advance Rosenworcel to a full Senate vote.
"The Simington nomination came very late in the last cycle and they found a way to get it done," Aaron said in an interview, referencing former President Donald Trump's nomination of junior Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington in late 2020, following then-commissioner Mike O'Rielly's departure.
Others are not as bullish. Many Republican Senators are not happy with Sohn's record, which may impact her path to confirmation, said Shane Tews, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
The FCC needs a full slate in order to pass more policies advised by the Biden administration, net neutrality chief among them.
