{"id":1212482,"date":"2022-01-12T20:34:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T01:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1212482"},"modified":"2022-01-12T20:34:18","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T01:34:18","slug":"bidens-tech-agenda-in-jeopardy-over-opposition-to-partisan-nominees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-tech-agenda-in-jeopardy-over-opposition-to-partisan-nominees\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Tech Agenda In Jeopardy Over Opposition To \u2018Partisan\u2019 Nominees"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbidens-tech-agenda-in-jeopardy-over-opposition-to-partisan-nominees%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1212482&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominees for key regulatory agencies are facing firm Republican opposition and delays in their confirmation process, holding up the president\u2019s policy goals of reinstating net neutrality regulations and strengthening competition in technology markets.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Biden\u2019s picks, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) nominee Gigi Sohn and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) nominee Alvaro Bedoya, have earned sharp criticism from Republicans and so far have yet to earn a confirmation vote from Democrats.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Republican FTC commissioners have pushed back on the agenda of the agency\u2019s Democrats; Republican Commissioner Noah Phillips wrote an op-ed arguing that the FTC should not craft data privacy rules and instead let Congress pass privacy legislation, while fellow Republican Commissioner Christine Wilson joined Phillips in dissenting when the FTC voted to refile its antitrust lawsuit against Facebook for its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Similarly, Republican FCC commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington have repeatedly expressed their opposition to implementing Title II net neutrality regulations, with Carr calling the framework \u201csocialism in sheep\u2019s clothing.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominees for key regulatory agencies are facing stiff Republican opposition and delays in their confirmation process, holding up the president\u2019s tech agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration has made it a priority to promote competition in technology markets and strengthen consumer protections, stressing the need to boost antitrust enforcement power and signaling an intent to revive Obama-era net neutrality rules.<\/p>\n<p>In a July <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2021\/07\/09\/fact-sheet-executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy\/\"><u>executive order<\/u><\/a>, Biden laid out key elements of his tech agenda, instructing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt through rulemaking net neutrality regulations under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. The order also instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to begin rulemaking on increasing competition in technology markets, surveillance and data collection, and acquisitions by major tech companies.<\/p>\n<p>However, two of Biden\u2019s picks to helm regulatory agencies, FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, are facing stiff opposition from Republicans, and so far have yet to earn a confirmation vote from Democrats. As a result, both the FTC and the FCC are evenly divided with two commissioners belonging to each party, stalling the Biden administration\u2019s policy goals.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans have <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/11\/12\/gigi-sohn-federal-communications-commission-ron-johnson-marsha-blackburn\/\"><u>pointed<\/u><\/a> to tweets and comments from both members as evidence of their partisanship, warning that the nominees, particularly Sohn, will abuse their positions to advance a left-wing agenda. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/01\/gigi-sohn-federal-communications-commission-joe-biden-fcc-nominee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Biden\u2019s FCC Nominee With History Of Net Neutrality Activism Set For Tough Hearing)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7322193\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7322193\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alvaro Bedoya, nominee selected by President Joe Biden for the Federal Trade Commission. (Screenshot\/YouTube\/Ford Foundation)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Bedoya\u2019s past work and comments <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/11\/16\/joe-biden-ice-federal-trade-commission-alvaro-bedoya\/\"><u>critical<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;of immigration authorities, in which he called the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) \u201cout-of-control domestic surveillance,\u201d attracted criticism from Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DEvLI-FOb2g\"><u>including<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;Sen. Ted Cruz, who castigated the nominee as an \u201cextremist.\u201d The Senate Commerce Committee deadlocked 14-14 on Bedoya\u2019s nomination but advanced it out of committee due to Senate rules.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans lambasted Sohn for previous <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gigibsohn\/status\/1321456221740847106?s=20\"><u>tweets<\/u><\/a> in which she said that \u201cFox News has had the most negative impact on our democracy,\u201d calling the network \u201cstate-sponsored propaganda,\u201d and demanding a government \u201chearing\u201d into its broadcasts. The Wall Street Journal editorial board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/hyperpartisan-gigi-sohn-doesnt-belong-at-the-fcc-politicization-tweets-11638309404\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">described<\/a> her as \u201cpartisan\u201d and argued her nomination \u201cprovides fresh evidence of the Democratic Party\u2019s leftward lurch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sohn also drew criticism from broadcasters over her involvement with Locast, a streaming service that re-transmitted local television broadcasts and was later deemed to be illegal. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nab.org\/documents\/newsroom\/pressRelease.asp?id=6242\"><u>statement<\/u><\/a> in November requesting Sohn submit an amended ethics agreement to Congress and expressed \u201cserious concerns\u201d about Sohn\u2019s involvement with Locast.<\/p>\n<p>The issue <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/13\/gigi-sohn-federal-communications-commission-locast-jon-tester-kyrsten-sinema\/\"><u>vexed<\/u><\/a> several Senate Commerce Democrats, including Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Jackie Rosen, and Jon Tester, as well as several members requested additional meetings with Sohn to resolve their concerns; Sohn\u2019s committee vote was delayed to allow lawmakers additional time to meet with the nominee.<\/p>\n<p>The nominations of both Bedoya and Sohn expired at the end of the previous legislative session, and were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2022\/01\/04\/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-54\/\"><u>resubmitted<\/u><\/a> to the Senate by Biden on Jan. 4. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/16\/chamber-of-commerce-build-back-better-ftc-joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: \u2018Unprecedented And Unjustified\u2019: Business Groups Slam Biden\u2019s Spending Bill For Eroding \u2018Due Process\u2019)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Senate Commerce Committee is considering holding a markup to potentially vote on Sohn and Bedoya during the week of Jan. 24, Politico <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/morning-tech\/2022\/01\/10\/antitrust-enforcers-are-drowning-in-mergers-799773\"><u>reported<\/u><\/a>, but the delay in confirming the nominees has prompted rebukes from several left-wing advocacy groups active on tech policy issues, who called on Senate Democrats to speed up the process, chastising them for their inaction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)\u2013\u2013essential agencies for fulfilling Democrats\u2019 promises\u2013\u2013remain essentially kneecapped,\u201d left-wing advocacy group Fight for the Future, which is heavily involved in net neutrality activism, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fightforthefuture.org\/news\/2022-01-10-senate-democrats-need-to-stop-dragging-their-feet-on-fcc-and-ftc-nominations\/\"><u>statement<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;Monday. \u201cThis is largely because Senate Democrats, and particularly the Senate Commerce Committee, has allowed disingenuous complaints from telecom industry groups, and Republican lawmakers sympathetic to their interests, to result in disastrous delays in advancing essential tech policy goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7311776\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7311776\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7311776\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/gigisohn-scaled-e1636759231825.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/gigisohn-scaled-e1636759231825.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gigisohn-scaled-e1636759231825-279x120.jpg 279w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gigisohn-scaled-e1636759231825-620x266.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gigisohn-scaled-e1636759231825-768x330.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gigisohn-scaled-e1636759231825-1536x660.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gigisohn-scaled-e1636759231825-2048x880.jpg 2048w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7311776\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Georgetown University Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy fellow Gigi Sohn testifies before the House Judiciary Committee\u2019s Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill March 12, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no time to waste and so much to get done at the FCC: ensuring the billions being invested in broadband actually reach those who need it most, restoring Net Neutrality and Title II, reckoning with media regulators\u2019 history on race and repairing the damage of the Trump years,\u201d Craig Aaron, co-CEO of left-wing activist organization Free Press Action, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freepress.net\/news\/press-releases\/senate-must-move-now-fill-crucial-posts-fcc-and-ftc\"><u>said<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;Friday. \u201cAnd the FTC is poised to take long-overdue action against the deceptive and harmful practices of giant platform companies like Meta and Google.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s not certain that lawmakers\u2019 concerns, particularly regarding Sohn, will be resolved. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/27\/facebook-federal-trade-commission-investigation-frances-haugen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Facebook Is Under Government Investigation Over Leaked Documents)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we stated previously and communicated to Senate Commerce Committee members last month, NAB continues to harbor serious concerns with Ms. Sohn\u2019s involvement as one of three directors of the illegal streaming service Locast,\u201d Ann Marie Cumming, senior vice president of Communications at NAB, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. \u201cHowever, we remain confident that these concerns can be resolved with an appropriate recusal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sohn will almost certainly fail to earn any GOP votes, according to two Republican Senate aides, meaning she will need every Democrat to support her nomination if she hopes to be confirmed. So far, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has yet to publicly back the nominee; Sinema\u2019s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Given public comments and previous decisions from Republican FCC and FTC officials, the Biden administration will likely need Democratic majorities in both regulatory agencies to implement its tech policies.<\/p>\n<p>Republican FCC commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington have repeatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/09\/federal-communications-commission-brendan-carr-big-tech\/\"><u>expressed<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;their opposition to implementing Title II net neutrality regulations, with Carr <a href=\"http:\/\/www.insideradio.com\/free\/fcc-deadlock-no-problem-says-commissioner-brendan-carr\/article_4053af2e-3607-11eb-9321-33ceae6901be.html\"><u>calling<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;the framework \u201csocialism in sheep\u2019s clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Republican FTC commissioners have pushed back on the agenda of the agency\u2019s Democrats, particularly Chairwoman Lina Khan. Republican Commissioner Noah Phillips wrote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/op-eds\/ftc-must-leave-privacy-legislating-to-congress\"><u>op-ed<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;arguing that the FTC should not craft data privacy rules and instead let Congress pass privacy legislation, while fellow Republican Commissioner Christine Wilson joined Phillips in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/public_statements\/1594737\/facebook_-_dissenting_statement_-_first_amended_complaint_-_final.pdf\"><u>dissenting<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;when the FTC voted to refile its antitrust lawsuit against Facebook for its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>Biden\u2019s plans to strengthen the FTC through legislation have also hit a stumbling block; the Build Back Better Act, Biden\u2019s flagship spending bill that includes several FTC-related provisions, has stalled in the Senate thanks in large part to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.<\/p>\n<p>The bill <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/16\/chamber-of-commerce-build-back-better-ftc-joe-biden\/\"><u>includes<\/u><\/a> a $500 million appropriation to the FTC to establish and operate a privacy bureau, and grants the commission additional authority to impose civil penalties on firms that commit \u201cunfair or deceptive acts or practices.\u201d However, following Manchin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/19\/joe-manchin-no-vote-joe-biden-build-back-better-spending-bill\/\"><u>announcement<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;that he would not vote for the legislation, the bill appears to be all but dead.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominees for key regulatory agencies are facing firm Republican opposition and delays in their confirmation process, holding up the president\u2019s policy goals of reinstating net neutrality regulations &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1212482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1212482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1212482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1212482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1212482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}