Friend,

This morning, the Senate held a confirmation hearing for Jessica Rosenworcel, one of President Biden’s nominees to the Federal Communications Commission.

Getting both Interim Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Gigi Sohn confirmed to the FCC now is a top priority for Free Press Action and our allies — in large measure because we need a fully functioning FCC to address policies that are core to our country’s fight for racial justice.

It’s painfully clear to all of us here at Free Press Action — who live in the wonky details of media policy — how the fights for Net Neutrality, high-speed internet and an equitable media system are key to pursuing racial justice. But we understand that the connections might not be immediately clear to everyone.

And since you’re a valued member of our movement, we want to make sure you have all of the information you need to understand why these nominations are so urgent — and why they are so critical to the movement for racial justice:

• Reliable high-speed internet at home is an essential service — without it people are at a distinct disadvantage in a myriad of ways. More than ever, we rely on a strong internet connection for truthful information; access to education and essential health care; our ability to be effective and competitive at work; access to banking, religious worship and so much more.
• Deeply entrenched racial income inequality has a distinct impact on who has access to reliable and affordable internet in our country. And while income levels alone impact which communities have the access they need, Free Press research shows that within different income levels, the digital divide disproportionately affects Black and Latinx people far more than white people.¹
• Without Title II Net Neutrality, internet service providers (ISPs) can block speech and prevent diverse voices from speaking freely online. They can throttle traffic to low-cost or free services and websites that compete with their profit interests. We’ve seen this and other open-internet violations happen in the past.²
• To meaningfully advance racial justice in the United States, people of color, immigrants and other impacted communities must have the guaranteed ability to bypass traditional media gatekeepers to raise their voices, organize and demand change. We need Title II Net Neutrality to guarantee these freedoms for Black and Brown communities.
• Free Press’ Media 2070 campaign and our coalition partners are demanding that the FCC reckon with how its policies have harmed the Black community. We need a fully functioning FCC to move this critical effort forward.³
• Racism has been embedded in U.S. media since colonial times, when newspapers relied on ad revenue from the slave trade to stay afloat, and today damaging stereotypes and misrepresentations are present in countless news stories. But we need a fully staffed FCC to conduct a race-equity audit since there is still so much we don’t know about the role media policies have played in our country’s history of racism.

This is a crucial moment for our movement. The Senate holiday recess is coming up in just a few weeks — and if Rosenworcel and Sohn are not confirmed before then, we’ll end up with a deadlocked FCC in 2022.

We need your voice to ensure that Biden’s FCC nominees are confirmed without delay. Please take a moment to urge the Senate to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Gigi Sohn before the end of the year.

We’ve achieved amazing things in 2021 thanks to your support. And with you by our side, we will continue to advance our progress in pursuit of a truly just democracy, and a transparent, equitable media system.

Thank you for everything you do for our movement.

In solidarity,

Heather, Joe and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net

P.S. Our work is powered by the generosity of charitable foundations and people like you — we don’t take a single dollar from business, government or political parties. If you can, please give today to sustain our work to move these critical FCC nominations forward.

1. “The Truth About the Digital Divide,” Free Press, Sept. 25, 2019

2. “Net Neutrality Violations: A Brief History,” Free Press, July 9, 2021

3. “More Than 100 Organizations and Community Leaders Demand That the FCC Investigate Decades of Racism in Media Policies,” Free Press, Sept. 14, 2021