SIGN THE PETITION TO ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA TO NOMINATE SUSAN CRAWFORD FOR FCC CHAIR HERE: http://wh.gov/sFoo
The news is more or less official now, and will be truly official come later today: Julius Genachowski is stepping down as chair of the FCC. As I said in my post last night, “those of us who are passionate about technology, broadband access, and American competitiveness need to get on the stick to push that Susan Crawford (.@scrawford) be nominated by President Obama for FCC Chair.”
While there are parallels between Elizabeth Warren and the Financial Services industry with Crawford and Telecom, the comparison ends when it comes to the right-left divide. The nomination of Crawford should be no less urgent to those on the right as it is those on the left (and center). Crawford argues eloquently for how the current system – in which a small group of dominant telecoms are entangled with captured regulators in what is essentially a monopoly – stifles innovation, economic opportunity and competitiveness in the US.
If you want more information on WHY we should push hard for Susan’s nomination, here are some resources:
- See the column by Katrina vanden Heuvel (Twitter: @KatrinaNation) – http://hardtruthsandbubblegum.com/2013/02/05/katrina-vanden-heuvel-susan-crawford-for-fcc-chairman-the-washington-post/
- See interview with Crawford on Bill Moyers: http://billmoyers.com/segment/susan-crawford-on-why-u-s-internet-access-is-slow-costly-and-unfair/
- Susan’s interview with New America: http://inthetank.newamerica.net/blog/2013/03/susan-crawford-internet-connection-should-be-water-not-oil
- Susan Crawford’s book Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age http://www.amazon.com/Captive-Audience-Telecom-Industry-Monopoly/dp/0300153139/
Take moment and sign the petition. It is here – http://wh.gov/sFoo
(Reddit discussion here: http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1assuw/petition_president_obama_to_nominate_susan/)