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Biden renominated Sohn the next day. The committee held a second round of hearings to examine Sohn's nomination on February 9, 2022. This second hearing fell outside the normal process for re-nomination, which typically does not involve a second hearing. In the intervening months between the first hearing and her re-nomination, Sohn's involvement in a settlement between Locast and several television networks came to light.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPX9BAowYFY&ab_channel=ForbesBreakingNews</ref> The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the previously undisclosed settlement which was signed a day after her original nomination was announced.<ref>https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/fcc-nominees-settlement-undercuts-rationale-for-blocking-her</ref> The settlement had not been disclosed to either the Senate or the White House. On March 3, 2022, the committee deadlocked on the nomination in a party-line vote. The entire Senate failed to move her out of committee on a discharge petition.
Biden renominated Sohn the next day. The committee held a second round of hearings to examine Sohn's nomination on February 9, 2022. This second hearing fell outside the normal process for re-nomination, which typically does not involve a second hearing. In the intervening months between the first hearing and her re-nomination, Sohn's involvement in a settlement between Locast and several television networks came to light.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPX9BAowYFY&ab_channel=ForbesBreakingNews</ref> The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the previously undisclosed settlement which was signed a day after her original nomination was announced.<ref>https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/fcc-nominees-settlement-undercuts-rationale-for-blocking-her</ref> The settlement had not been disclosed to either the Senate or the White House. On March 3, 2022, the committee deadlocked on the nomination in a party-line vote. The entire Senate failed to move her out of committee on a discharge petition.


On January 3, 2023, at the conclusion of the 117th Congress, her nomination was again returned to the White House and Sohn was again re-nominated for the post. On February 14, 2023, the Commerce Committee held a third nomination hearing. This hearing involved allegations that Sohn had intentionally misled, to the point of outright lies, the committee regarding the Locast settlement. Additionally, it was brought to light at the hearing that Sohn had made political contributions to "12 contributions to Senators running for office." Public FEC data shows 41 contributions (often through ActBlue) totaling $2980 between December 1, 2020 and January 31, 2023.<ref>https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Gigi+Sohn&two_year_transaction_period=2022&min_date=12%2F01%2F2021&max_date=01%2F31%2F2023</ref> These went to the reelection campaigns of [[Raphael Warnock]] (D-GA), a member of the Commerce Committee, [[Michael Bennet]] (D-CO), and [[Catherine Cortez-Masto]] (D-NV) a former committee member in the 117th Congress, as well as to the campaign of [[John Fetterman]] (D-PA) who won election to the 118th Congress. Her contributions also went to candidates [[Tim Ryan (Ohio politician)|Tim Ryan]] (lost to Sen. [[JD Vance]] (R-OH)), [[Val Demings]] (failed to unseat Sen. [[Marco Rubio]] (R-FL)), [[Mandela Barnes]] (failed to unseat Sen. [[Ron Johnson]] (R-WI)), [[Cheri Beasley]] (lost an open seat election to Sen. [[Ted Budd]] (R-NC)). Other contributions went to House candidates, and some ActBlue contributions were not publicly earmarked. It was also revealed at the hearing that Sohn had made contributions to organizations, such as net-neutrality advocates "Fight for the Future", that actively called for Sen. [[Maria Cantwell]] (D-WA) to be removed as Chair of the Commerce Committee, attacked Sen. [[Joe Manchin III]] (D-WV), as well as current Commerce Committee members Sens. [[Kyrsten Sinema]] (D-AZ), [[Gary Peters]] (D-MI) and [[Jon Tester]] (D-MT), as "corrupt" in 2017. Other Senators who were attacked by the group included [[Marsha Blackburn]] (R-TN), [[Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator)|Dan Sullivan]] (R-AK), and former Commerce Ranking Member [[Roger Wicker]] (R-MS). The group went so far as to protest Wicker, in person, with signs reading "We're Here to Buy a Senator", a picture of which Sohn re-tweeted with the caption "Well done".<ref>https://twitter.com/gigibsohn/status/1100899909371338752?s=20&t=uFT3xyvYPHZVJ5EfulbUfQ</ref> During these aggressive campaigns, Sohn was also advocating for others to contribute to these groups, though she claims her support is for the groups' goals, and not their "tactics".<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/video/6320400864112</ref>
On January 3, 2023, at the conclusion of the 117th Congress, her nomination was again returned to the White House and Sohn was again re-nominated for the post. On February 14, 2023, the Commerce Committee held a third nomination hearing. This hearing involved allegations that Sohn had intentionally misled, to the point of outright lies, the committee regarding the Locast settlement. Additionally, it was brought to light at the hearing that Sohn had made political contributions to "12 contributions to Senators running for office." Public FEC data shows 41 contributions (often through ActBlue) totaling $2980 between December 1, 2020 and January 31, 2023.<ref>https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Gigi+Sohn&two_year_transaction_period=2022&min_date=12%2F01%2F2021&max_date=01%2F31%2F2023</ref> These went to the reelection campaigns of [[Raphael Warnock]] (D-GA), a member of the Commerce Committee, [[Michael Bennet]] (D-CO), and [[Catherine Cortez-Masto]] (D-NV) a former committee member in the 117th Congress, as well as to the campaign of [[John Fetterman]] (D-PA) who won election to the 118th Congress. Her contributions also went to candidates [[Tim Ryan (Ohio politician)|Tim Ryan]] (lost to Sen. [[JD Vance]] (R-OH)), [[Val Demings]] (failed to unseat Sen. [[Marco Rubio]] (R-FL)), [[Mandela Barnes]] (failed to unseat Sen. [[Ron Johnson]] (R-WI)), [[Cheri Beasley]] (lost an open seat election to Sen. [[Ted Budd]] (R-NC)). Other contributions went to House candidates, and some ActBlue contributions were not publicly earmarked. It was also revealed at the hearing that Sohn had made contributions to organizations, such as net-neutrality advocates [[Fight for the Future]], that actively called for Sen. [[Maria Cantwell]] (D-WA) to be removed as Chair of the Commerce Committee, attacked Sen. [[Joe Manchin III]] (D-WV), as well as current Commerce Committee members Sens. [[Kyrsten Sinema]] (D-AZ), [[Gary Peters]] (D-MI) and [[Jon Tester]] (D-MT), as "corrupt" in 2017. Other Senators who were attacked by the group included [[Marsha Blackburn]] (R-TN), [[Dan Sullivan (U.S. senator)|Dan Sullivan]] (R-AK), and former Commerce Ranking Member [[Roger Wicker]] (R-MS). The group went so far as to protest Wicker, in person, with signs reading "We're Here to Buy a Senator", a picture of which Sohn re-tweeted with the caption "Well done".<ref>https://twitter.com/gigibsohn/status/1100899909371338752?s=20&t=uFT3xyvYPHZVJ5EfulbUfQ</ref> During these aggressive campaigns, Sohn was also advocating for others to contribute to these groups, though she claims her support is for the groups' goals, and not their "tactics".<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/video/6320400864112</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==

Revision as of 07:37, 22 February 2023

Gigi B. Sohn
A photo of Gigi Sohn from the Public Knowledge IP3 awards event in 2012
Sohn in 2012
EducationBoston University (BS)
University of Pennsylvania (JD)
Spouse
Lara Ballard
​
(m. 2007)​
Children1

Gigi Beth Sohn[1] (born August 2, 1961) is an American lawyer who is the co-founder (with Laurie Racine[2] and David Bollier) of Public Knowledge.[3] She previously worked for the Ford Foundation.[4] In 2013, Tom Wheeler hired her into a senior staff position at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[5] She left there shortly after Donald Trump's election in 2016. In July 2017, she held fellowship positions with Georgetown Law's Institute for Technology Law & Policy, Open Society Foundations, and Mozilla.[6]

Early life and education

Sohn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcasting and film from Boston University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.[7]

Career

From 2013 to 2016, Gigi served as Counselor to Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, and from 2001 to 2013 was co-founder and CEO of Public Knowledge, a communications and technology policy advocacy organization serving the interests of consumers.[7] She was previously a Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation’s Media, Arts and Culture unit and Executive Director of the Media Access Project, a communications public interest law firm.[7]

She is a non-resident fellow at the University of Southern California Annenberg Center, and a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Law. She has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Sohn was executive director of the Media Access Project, a public interest law firm.[8] She is known for her "personal relationships with power players all over the capital."[9]

Sohn is an EFF Pioneer Award winner.[10] In November 2013, she was hired by the FCC as special counsel for external affairs.[5] Sohn is the host of Tech on the Rocks, a podcast focused on media, tech policy and broadband.

From 2018 to 2021, Sohn sat on the board of Locast, an app that captured and retransmitted local broadcast signals over the internet pursuant to an exemption in the copyright law for nonprofits. Viewers could stream the content for free, though it accepted donations. Several broadcasting networks sued, and a federal judge last fall[when?]ordered Locast to stop operating. Plaintiffs were awarded $32 million in damages. Locast ceased operations on September 21, 2021.

Since 2018, Sohn has been a member of the Board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

FCC nomination

On October 26, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Sohn to serve as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission.[11][12] Initial hearings were held before the Senate Commerce Committee on her nomination on December 1, 2021. Sohn's initial nomination stalled in the committee and was returned to Biden on January 3, 2022.[13]

Biden renominated Sohn the next day. The committee held a second round of hearings to examine Sohn's nomination on February 9, 2022. This second hearing fell outside the normal process for re-nomination, which typically does not involve a second hearing. In the intervening months between the first hearing and her re-nomination, Sohn's involvement in a settlement between Locast and several television networks came to light.[14] The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the previously undisclosed settlement which was signed a day after her original nomination was announced.[15] The settlement had not been disclosed to either the Senate or the White House. On March 3, 2022, the committee deadlocked on the nomination in a party-line vote. The entire Senate failed to move her out of committee on a discharge petition.

On January 3, 2023, at the conclusion of the 117th Congress, her nomination was again returned to the White House and Sohn was again re-nominated for the post. On February 14, 2023, the Commerce Committee held a third nomination hearing. This hearing involved allegations that Sohn had intentionally misled, to the point of outright lies, the committee regarding the Locast settlement. Additionally, it was brought to light at the hearing that Sohn had made political contributions to "12 contributions to Senators running for office." Public FEC data shows 41 contributions (often through ActBlue) totaling $2980 between December 1, 2020 and January 31, 2023.[16] These went to the reelection campaigns of Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member of the Commerce Committee, Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) a former committee member in the 117th Congress, as well as to the campaign of John Fetterman (D-PA) who won election to the 118th Congress. Her contributions also went to candidates Tim Ryan (lost to Sen. JD Vance (R-OH)), Val Demings (failed to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)), Mandela Barnes (failed to unseat Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)), Cheri Beasley (lost an open seat election to Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC)). Other contributions went to House candidates, and some ActBlue contributions were not publicly earmarked. It was also revealed at the hearing that Sohn had made contributions to organizations, such as net-neutrality advocates Fight for the Future, that actively called for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to be removed as Chair of the Commerce Committee, attacked Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WV), as well as current Commerce Committee members Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Jon Tester (D-MT), as "corrupt" in 2017. Other Senators who were attacked by the group included Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and former Commerce Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS). The group went so far as to protest Wicker, in person, with signs reading "We're Here to Buy a Senator", a picture of which Sohn re-tweeted with the caption "Well done".[17] During these aggressive campaigns, Sohn was also advocating for others to contribute to these groups, though she claims her support is for the groups' goals, and not their "tactics".[18]

Personal life

Sohn married Lara Ballard in August 2007.[19] Sohn adopted a daughter in 2004.

References

  1. ^ "Gigi Beth Sohn Profile".
  2. ^ "Team". Startl. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ^ "Gigi Sohn, President and Co-Founder of Public Knowledge". Stanford Law School. March 1, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  4. ^ "Annual Report 2000" (PDF). Annual Report. Ford Foundation: 17. April 2001. ISSN 0071-7274. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Wyatt, Edward (November 5, 2013). "FCC's Chief Hires a Critic of the Agency". New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  6. ^ Brodkin, Jon (July 12, 2017). "How to write a meaningful FCC comment supporting net neutrality: Former FCC official explains how to get your point across to Ajit Pai". Ars Technica. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "Gigi B. Sohn (bio)". Practicing Law Institute. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Albanese, Andrew Richard (May 21, 2010). "LJ Q&A: Knowledge is Power-Gigi Sohn". Library Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  9. ^ Jerome, Sara (December 15, 2010). "Head of consumer group takes on FCC's net neutrality plan". The Hill. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  10. ^ "EFF Honors Craigslist, Gigi Sohn, and Jimmy Wales with Pioneer Awards". Electronic Frontier Foundation. April 27, 2006. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  11. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominations". The White House. October 26, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  12. ^ Naylor, Brian (October 26, 2021). "Biden makes 2 key, boundary-breaking FCC nominations". NPR. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  13. ^ "PN1323 — Gigi B. Sohn — Federal Communications Commission 117th Congress (2021-2022)". US Congress. January 3, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  14. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPX9BAowYFY&ab_channel=ForbesBreakingNews
  15. ^ https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/fcc-nominees-settlement-undercuts-rationale-for-blocking-her
  16. ^ https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Gigi+Sohn&two_year_transaction_period=2022&min_date=12%2F01%2F2021&max_date=01%2F31%2F2023
  17. ^ https://twitter.com/gigibsohn/status/1100899909371338752?s=20&t=uFT3xyvYPHZVJ5EfulbUfQ
  18. ^ https://www.foxnews.com/video/6320400864112
  19. ^ Kurlantzick, Joshua (April 11, 2008). "A Red Carpet for Gay Weddings". New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
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