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Friend,
Good news is hard to come by but I’m writing with some: On Wednesday, May 11th, after nearly 8 months of waiting, public interest-champion and former Free Press board member Alvaro Bedoya was confirmed in a 51–50 vote to serve as a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission!
We are SO excited for Commissioner Bedoya and for the nation. He has devoted his career to protecting people’s privacy and safeguarding everyone’s rights to equal opportunity, and we can’t wait to get to work with him to curb the abuses of companies like Facebook and Google.
Unfortunately, I don’t have good news to share about Biden’s remarkable nominee to the FCC, Gigi Sohn. Please take a second to urge your senators to confirm Sohn ASAP.
In fact, not only is the news on Sohn not good, it’s infuriating. Earlier this month, in a Rose Garden ceremony, President Biden and Vice President Harris cheered some of the same companies that are spending heinous amounts of money to torpedo Gigi Sohn’s confirmation to the FCC.1
President Biden even went so far as to invite representatives from AT&T and Comcast— two companies behind the seemingly endless delay and shameful right-wing smear campaign2 against Sohn — to stand for applause just for taking part in a government-funded program to ensure disconnected people can afford essential internet service.
You know what else could help lower the cost of high-speed internet? A fully staffed and operational FCC that can actually hold ISPs accountable. But Senate Democrats have been completely ineffective at overcoming the dishonest industry-funded campaign against Sohn.
We at Free Press Action are doing everything we can to counter this nonsense, but we need your help. Demand that your senators vote to confirm Sohn without further delay.
Thanks for all that you do—
Heather
freepress.net
P.S. Senate Democrats MUST step up and confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC. They could have done so as far back as December, and we can’t afford to waste any more time. Tell your senators to confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC.
1. “White House to Praise ISPs for Offering Cheaper Internet Options, Even While These Same Companies Are Sabotaging Biden's FCC Nominee,” Free Press Action, May 9, 2022
2. “Don't Let the Smear Machine Stop the Gears of a Fully Functional FCC,” Free Press, April 21, 2022 
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