Let’s get to it

Things are moving pretty fast around Free Press and Free Press Action these days, and we certainly don’t expect you to keep up with all of it.
So we decided to pull together a more detailed monthly update on just a few of the things that have been happening around here since the start of 2023 — from holding Twitter advertisers like the NFL and Apple accountable for bankrolling hate to pushing the Senate to confirm Gigi Sohn.
So let’s get to it:

Deadlock at the FCC: The Fight to Confirm Gigi Sohn

Gigi Sohn, President Biden’s highly qualified nominee to fill the tiebreaking seat at the Federal Communications Commission, headed back to the Senate Commerce Committee last week for her THIRD confirmation hearing, where she faced attacks from obstructionist lawmakers. No other nominee in the FCC’s history has had to wait this long for a confirmation vote. As a result of the incessant delays, the agency has been unable to take action on a whole range of crucial issues.
Telecom companies and broadcasters that the FCC regulates benefit from the deadlock, so they’ve repeatedly smeared and misrepresented Gigi Sohn’s record in the media and on Capitol Hill since she was first nominated in October 2021.
If the Senate genuinely wants to improve the lives of internet users, cellphone customers, TV watchers and radio listeners — aka, all of us — it can start by rejecting the attacks and immediately confirming this excellent public servant to the FCC. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition demanding the Senate do just that.

T-Mobile Doesn’t Care About Your Privacy

The latest T-Mobile hack is the eighth major hack in the company’s history — and the second one in just two years.
Whether it’s reckless security practices or the excessive collection of our personal information, companies are vacuuming up our personal information without any concern about the consequences. And these companies are able to do this because there’s weak — sometimes nonexistent — federal oversight.
That needs to change. Add your name to our petition calling on Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to safeguard everyone’s privacy.

Super Bowl Advertisers Come Face to Face with Musk's 'Hellscape'

As a leader of the #StopToxicTwitter coalition, we warned companies to stop advertising on the platform unless and until Musk committed to protecting users through stronger content-moderation policies to rein in hate, harassment and toxicity. And we warned these companies that if they didn’t take action, they’d risk their content appearing alongside tweets from conspiracy theorists, neo-Nazis, misogynists and other hateful accounts.
We were right. New research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate offers the latest chapter in the rapid demise of Elon Musk’s Twitter: Major advertisers — including those featured during the Super Bowl — are paying the social network millions of dollars to drag their brands through the platform’s toxic sludge.
Tim Karr, our senior director of strategy and communications, breaks down this important research and Elon Musk’s disastrous tenure as Twitter CEO in a must-read blog post.

A View From the Field
Check out the latest updates from the field as Free Press and Free Press Action staffers work alongside our amazing allies and activists to create a more just and equitable media system.
Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights Nora Benavidez attended the Association of American Law Schools Conference in San Diego and took part in a panel discussion on disinformation and democracy. She spoke about Free Press’ work to protect people’s digital civil rights and hold social-media platforms accountable.
Senior Director, Journalism and Civic Information Mike Rispoli met with journalism innovators and philanthropists in California to discuss the best way to support community-information needs. The meeting explored the findings in The Roadmap for Local News: An Emergent Approach to Meeting Civic Information Needs, a major report that Mike co-authored with Elizabeth Green of Chalkbeat and Darryl Holliday of City Bureau. The report sets forth a visionary and actionable plan to ensure that every U.S. community has access to necessary civic news and information.

Other Free Press Updates
In late January, Meta ignored the advocacy from organizations like ours and restored Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. Needless to say, we’re disappointed by this reckless decision — read more about our response here.
On Feb. 8, Free Press submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission in support of its ongoing proceeding to combat “junk fees” that add undue costs to consumer bills. Our comments, filed jointly with the Consumer Federation of America and 40 other public-interest advocates, document the ways in which such fees are commonplace in the telecommunications sector and drain money from people’s pockets. More here.
The Media 2070 team’s award-winning documentary, Black in the Newsroom, is continuing to tour festivals around the country. The film, which examines a young reporter’s experiences with systemic racism at The Arizona Republic, is available to view here.

Credit for photo of Elon Musk: Flickr user Daniel Oberhaus