Biden FCC nominee Gigi Sohn will face scrutiny over calls for censorship and leftist advocacy
Gigi Sohn, President Joe Biden’s progressive FCC nominee, is likely to face scrutiny for her seemingly endless controversial statements as she hopes to be confirmed by the nation’s top tech agency.
Biden reappointed Sohn in early January after Senate Democrats failed to secure a majority to confirm her as commissioner due to her far-left sympathies and controversial statements. If Sohn were confirmed at the FCC, it would give the agency a Democratic majority, which could allow them to pursue net neutrality regulations and other leftist priorities.
More recently, Breitbart News Senior Technology Correspondent Allum Bokhari reported how Sohn was named to the board of the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) in 2018, two years before the group awarded its ” Pioneer Award” to a dominatrix named Mistress Blunt.
Sohn called Fox News “state-sponsored propaganda” that is “dangerous to democracy” and called on the FCC to investigate whether Sinclair Broadcast Group, a conservative-run local TV network, should have a broadcast license.
Sohn was the co-founder and CEO of the left-leaning advocacy group Public Knowledge, which called on cable and satellite providers to cancel One America News Network.
Bokhari documented other issues she may face during a confirmation hearing:
Sohn was also co-founder and CEO of the left-leaning nonprofit Public Knowledge, which in 2021 called on cable and satellite providers to drop the conservative One America News Network (OAN). Following pressure from Public Knowledge and Democratic members of Congress who oversee the FCC, cable companies Verizon and AT&T did just that, cutting off access to two major conservative TV channels for millions of Americans.
Sohn also praised the far-left advocacy organization Color of Change, which called the police “a violent institution that needs to end” and said “more police in black neighborhoods actually harm to blacks”.
Sohn was also the guest of honor at an event hosted by another left-leaning nonprofit, Movement Labs, which boasted of her ability to censor conservative media if she was confirmed to the FCC.
“Who is this pinnacle of breach of trust that has earned the wrath of evil? Gigi Sohn, founder of Public Knowledge and FCC candidate, where she would fill a 3-2 progressive majority capable of breaking the propaganda machine of right of Sinclair,” Movement Labs said in a statement promoting the event.
In October 2020, Sohn claimed that Facebook and Twitter “ don’t have a problem with censorship, they have a problem with transparency, consistency, standards and practices. Their decisions to remove or not remove content are opaque, ad hoc, and arbitrary. Which bothers people on both sides. #section230.”
IMO, @Facebook & @Twitter don’t have a problem with censorship, they have a problem with transparency, consistency, standards and practices. Their decisions to remove or not remove content are opaque, ad hoc, and arbitrary. Which bothers people on both sides. #section230
— Gigi Sohn (@gigibsohn) October 28, 2020
Internal Twitter emails revealed that intelligence agencies as well as Democratic congressional staffers were implicated in demands for censorship of free speech on Twitter.
Sohn also said in October 2020: “In addition to partisan differences over the purpose of this #Section230 hearing, it is clear that the R’s are more concerned about what is removed (conservative speech), the D’s are more concerned about what is NOT removed (misinformation, false election information, hate speech).
In addition to the partisan differences on the subject of this #Section230 audience, it’s clear that the R’s are more concerned about what gets removed (conservative speech), the D’s are more concerned about what is NOT removed (misinformation, fake election news, hate speech)
— Gigi Sohn (@gigibsohn) October 28, 2020
Sohn wrote in October 2020 in response to an article about a court case regarding curbside voting: “It is an outrage. Republicans know the only way to win is to suppress the vote.
Sohn wrote in response to Ibram X Kendi joining the Boston University faculty, “My undergraduate alma mater has been less than perfect in its response to the current moment, but it’s fantastic.”
Kendi helped advance Critical Race Theory (CRT), an anti-white ideology, through his best-selling book, “How to Be an Anti-Racist.”
Kendi’s book argued that anti-racists “dismantle” racist “systems” by attacking any concept, law or establishment that correlates with unequal overall outcomes.
Although Senate Democrats have increased their majority to 51, giving them more leeway to guide Sohn’s Senate nomination, hurdles remain to confirming the controversial FCC nominee.
Several reports have revealed that the senses. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Catherine Cortez (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) are still unsure if they plan to vote to confirm Sohn. The Verge reported that the Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) could bolster his nomination.
Masto said in December that she was concerned about Sohn’s earlier comments about “defunding the police.” The Fraternal Order of Police opposed his nomination.
Breitbart News reported in March 2022:
Sohn retweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NM), who wrote in November 2020, “When it comes to ‘funding’ and ‘socialism’ attacks, people need to realize it’s acts of attacks of racial resentment. You’re not going to make this go away. You can make it less effective.
Sohn retweeted a user who described federal law enforcement guarding federal property in Portland, Oregon in July 2020 as “armed morons in riot gear with tear gas.”
The FCC nominee also liked a tweet calling for an end to “qualified immunity,” which would remove legal protections for officers in the line of duty.
Senate Republicans have raised questions about how a coalition of broadcasters mysteriously agreed to cut a $700,000 settlement in a copyright dispute with Locast to $700,000, a day after Biden said appointed Sohn to the FCC. Sohn was a member of Locast’s board of directors prior to his appointment.
During a confirmation hearing in February 2022, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) lambasted Sohn for calling Republicans “white supremacists”:
I don’t see how you can be impartial. Fox News is state-sponsored media…propaganda…Republicans know the only way to win is to suppress the vote. They are yours. Here’s a retweet: “Your ragged white supremacist president and his cowardly enablers would rather kill everyone than stop killing black people.” Damn. This is the exit. I mean, do you think most Republicans are racists and white supremacists?
C-LIFE
Sohn apologized at the February 2022 hearing for her “tone” and said her far-left views would not impact her views if confirmed to serve with the FCC.
Video footage and photos obtained by Bokhari show Sohn attending a “net neutrality” rally with leftists in 2012, which was an attempt to pressure his former boss, then FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler:
The Senate Commerce Committee will likely hold a confirmation hearing on Sohn’s qualifications or lack thereof for the FCC.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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