When President Biden nominated Jessica Rosenworcel ’97 to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2021, she was the first woman confirmed by the US Senate to serve as a permanent chair of the agency. Previously, she had served as commissioner starting in 2012, after being nominated to two separate terms by President Obama and President Trump.
As chair, Rosenworcel has led the FCC through a period of rapid changes in the telecommunications industry that the agency oversees, from the disruptive impact of COVID-19 and battles over net neutrality rules to non-stop upheaval inside the world of broadcasting. Now, with the Trump administration taking the federal reins in January, she’s preparing to leave her FCC post. In a Q&A with NYU Law, Rosenworcel talks about her path from law school to the FCC, her focus as chair on keeping pace with technological innovation, and what she hopes the FCC will continue to prioritize in the future.
Why did you decide to go to NYU Law?
I studied economics at Wesleyan University. I was from a family that did science, and choosing law and the legal profession was heading in another direction. That appealed to me in a contrarian way. But there is a lot of intersection between law and economics. And I think I was intrigued by the prospect of understanding how you look at the world through a legal prism. It’s not something that I grew up knowing, and it felt to me like it could be a framework for making a difference in the world.
There was a dynamism in New York—and at NYU—that drew me to the city and the school. I still feel it when I go back and visit. It’s just a place with incredible energy. And I like that it’s a place that leans into the future. When I was there, it was early days in the internet revolution. And there was a lot of discussion about how that might change the law and what it might mean for legal systems. I was intrigued by that.
How did your career in communications law begin?
I decided to come to Washington shortly after law school. I think it became apparent to me, when I moved to Washington, just how important the coursework that I had at NYU Law would be for a career in law in the Capitol. I spent some time [working in communications policy] at a DC law firm. And then I went to work in the US Senate. I worked first for Senator [Daniel] Inouye from Hawaii. And later for Senator [Jay] Rockefeller from West Virginia. They both ran the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and I served as senior counsel with a focus on technology issues. I worked on everything from the digital television transition and spectrum auctions for wireless handsets to expanding broadband access in rural America.
It was a tremendous education in the legislative process. And I got a good schooling about how to get things done, which is not easy in Congress. But I think I learned a lot, and it helps me with the job that I’m doing today.
Prior to working in the US Senate, you held advisory roles at the FCC between 1999 to 2007. Then President Obama nominated you to be a commissioner at the agency in 2012. What was your reaction?
It was pretty tremendous. It’s an honor to be appointed by a President and confirmed by the Senate. And it’s an opportunity to do some good. So from the very start, I’ve tried to think about how to make the digital world work for everyone and to use the laws that this agency is entrusted with to do that—to make sure we’re approaching them in a modern way and being thoughtful about providing opportunities from the digital world to everyone, everywhere.
You have said that the jobs that you’ve had throughout your career helped to prepare you to run the FCC. But how did you handle taking on that role during a time of uncertainty due to COVID?
It was the height of the pandemic. When I was sworn in as chairwoman, I had to stand outside on the street because we had limited access to the building. You know, it was a strange moment in our history. But it was also a moment that proved just how important it is to close our nation’s digital divide. We all remember that during the pandemic, we were all told to go home, hunker down and live our lives online. One thing that this agency saw very clearly is that there are a lot of people who are not able to get the service necessary to do that.
And so I’m really proud of the programs that we ran, like the Affordable Connectivity Program. We ran it and we got 23 million households connected all across the country. These are low-income households with young schoolchildren and elderly people who were having a hard time getting online. We brought more people online through this affordability program than any other single initiative, I believe, in our nation’s history.
In speeches throughout your time as chair, you often underscored the historic nature of your appointment as the first woman to lead the commission on a permanent basis. Why?
I ultimately believe that if you can see it, you can be it. And I think that requires people who are the first to speak about it. I think it’s important to point out the fact that we’re sitting in rooms and making decisions in situations that we haven’t been allowed to before. And if you draw attention to it, I think it’s more likely that others will follow in your wake. The most important thing is that you can be the first, but you can’t be the last.
As you reflect upon your tenure at the FCC, what stands out to you in terms of notable policies implemented in addition to challenges that were faced?
This is an agency that’s been around since 1934, so I looked at our workload and tried to study what we had before us from top to bottom. One thing that quickly became apparent is that communications technology is changing, and we are seeing so many new satellite systems for broadband, from imaging to geolocation and more. So I set up the first-ever Space Bureau at the FCC [which focuses on satellite and space-based communications, licensing, and regulating usage of spectrum and orbital resources], and it’s really taken off. I’m very proud of it. I was just in Cape Town at the Africa Tech Festival, talking about it, because our work has become a model for others around the globe.
I also think that some of the work we’ve done on the Internet of Things devices is really important. Fitness trackers, security cameras, and industrial monitoring equipment are putting internet sensors, capabilities, and so much in the physical world around us. But we have got to make sure that each of those connections are safe. So we have been setting up the US Cyber Trust Mark, which is the first-ever cyber security labeling program in the US. In the future, consumers are going to see that mark on a product or a device, and it will mean that they can bring it into their home without having a fear about inviting malware or malicious activity. It’s an effort that’s still mid-course, but one that I think is going to be long lasting and important.
Is there anything that surprised you? That the work of this agency extends beyond the United States. I’ve traveled a lot now internationally, and I’ve come to realize that our work is copied by regulators around the globe. It puts a little more pressure on you, but it’s an incredible opportunity to make change that has worldwide impact.
Have you been able to draw any links between what you learned in law school and the work that you have carried out in your career since?
I think the most important classroom experience I had was a class in administrative law, and it was taught by Ricky Revesz [AnBryce Professor of Law], who went on to become the dean of NYU Law. But here’s what’s funny—I serve on the President’s Competition Council, and that’s a group that thinks about competition across the economy. It includes cabinet secretaries and the heads of agencies like mine. And in the last meeting, I went to the White House. I looked around the table, identified where the President was sitting and where my nameplate was. I sat down and looked to my left. And sitting next to me was Ricky Revesz, who had been sworn in as the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. So I reintroduce myself and let him know that his class was the most important one that I took in law school. And he said that he was aware of my ascendance to this role. But to be sitting next to him in the White House and waiting for the President to arrive with cabinet secretaries—I don’t think I could have imagined that when I was sitting in the third row of his class back in Washington Square, trying to figure out the mechanics of administrative law.
What concerns you most as you prepare to depart? Many observers noted that after then-candidate Donald Trump called for revoking the broadcast license of CBS following an interview that “60 Minutes” conducted with Vice President Kamala Harris, you issued a vigorous statement about freedom of the press.
It’s important to speak up to the idea of news production, which is facing its own challenges right now. It holds the powerful accountable and it really matters in a democracy. The First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC should not be revoking broadcast licenses simply because a politician or a public official does not like the content or coverage from a station. I’ve said that many times before, and I’ll keep saying it again and again.
What are you looking to do now?
Well, I’m going to finish up my tenure strong. And then I’m going to spend some time with my family and my rescue dog. It’s the most obvious Washington answer there is, but it’s also the truth.
This interview has been condensed and edited. Posted December 12, 2024