Add Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro to the list of those strongly endorsing Gigi Sohn for the fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission.
President Joe Biden resubmitted Sohn’s nomination to the Senate on Jan. 4 as the administration attempts to finally secure a Democratic majority after a year in a political 2–2 tie. (Nominations must be resubmitted to a new session of Congress unless they have been held over by the relevant committee, which Sohn’s was not.)
It will take that majority to tackle potential regulation of broadcasters and internet service providers, s9mething Republicans are unlikely to vote for.
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In a blog post as CTA kicked off CES 2022, Shapiro called Sohn a “pragmatic problem solver who understands what it takes to make innovation thrive.”
Support from Shapiro comes hardly out of the blue. He and Sohn were on the same side of several fair-use fights when she headed advocacy group Public Knowledge.
He pointed to her opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which CTA also opposed.
“Good government depends on the leadership of good people — individuals who are committed to principles over partisanship, open to diverse perspectives and dedicated to acting in the public interest,” wrote Shapiro. “As the U.S. Senate considers a nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), I urge them to confirm a candidate who embodies these qualities: Gigi Sohn.”
Sohn also received the endorsement of a trio of Obama-era FCC Homeland Security Bureau chiefs this week.
She has already had a nomination hearing, but has yet to get a vote out of the Senate Commerce Committee, after which she would need full-Senate confirmation.
Some Republicans have taken issue with her tweets about Fox News and past positions on net neutrality, but others concede elections have consequences and respect her intellect and her integrity.
