Editorial: GOP blocking FCC nominee, restoration of net neutrality

It’s small wonder that advocates of basic internet freedoms have little faith in Washington’s ability to protect consumers’ online rights.

In 2020, President Biden campaigned on the promise that he would restore net neutrality rules, ensuring that all internet traffic would be treated equally. No longer would telecommunication giants such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast be allowed to charge content providers higher rates for faster service that delivers prime access to customers. Wealthier, established companies would not be able to keep squeezing out innovative new voices forced to operate in the slow lane.

Yet Biden waited nine months after his inauguration to name his choice to fill a critical vacancy on the Federal Communications Commission. The delay was inexplicable, since the new commissioner would break a 2-2 deadlock on the FCC that was preventing action on key net neutrality and broadband privacy regulations.

And here we are, another four months later, still waiting for the Senate to confirm Biden’s nominee, Gigi Sohn. She initially appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee in December, but Republicans on the committee forced a second hearing, questioning Sohn’s impartiality on tech issues.

That’s a hoot.

In 2017, Republicans had no problem confirming President Trump’s choice for FCC chair, Ajit Pai, who had previously served as Verizon’s deputy general counsel. Pai led the effort to do away with net neutrality protections that Sohn had helped craft as a top aide to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler during the Obama administration.

Wheeler’s FCC regulations were widely regarded as the toughest in U.S. history. He called Sohn the conscience of his office for “her tireless advocacy on behalf of American consumers and competition.”

Before going to work at the FCC, Sohn founded the tech policy group Public Knowledge, one of the original backers of net neutrality rules. She has a 30-year record of acting in the public’s best interest.

An open internet, in which no content is given preference with faster service, matters for consumers and innovation. Powerful telecom companies shouldn’t be able to pick winners and losers online by charging content providers higher rates for faster service.

California passed a model net neutrality law in 2018, blocking telecoms from giving preference for certain online content. A U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 28 upheld the state law in a 3-0 ruling, saying the FCC could not bar California’s action.

The telecom industry is expected to take the case to the Supreme Court. California consumers and innovators are safe for now. But given the current makeup of the Supreme Court, the need for action at the federal level is critical.

The Senate is expected to take up Sohn’s nomination again next week. She should be confirmed so the FCC can restore net neutrality as the law of the land.