The Biden administration’s outgoing Federal Communications Commission chair had some choice words about Donald Trump and the threat he poses to the First Amendment as she announced some of the last official decisions of her tenure.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has been a bulwark in her role, often resisting proposals that would give a select few companies monopolistic control over communications technology and channels.
This week, the FCC’s enforcement bureau dismissed three complaints filed to the commission by conservative groups that sought to penalize media outlets for their coverage. One claimed that ABC News showed preferential treatment to Vice President Kamala Harris over Donald Trump during their sole debate last September. Another pushed allegations that CBS doctored an interview the organization conducted with Harris during the campaign. And the third claimed NBC violated the FCC’s “equal time” rule by inviting Harris on “Saturday Night Live” before Election Day (NBC Universal, which airs “Saturday Night Live,” is the parent company of MSNBC).
A fourth petition, filed by a liberal group, sought to have the broadcast license of Philadelphia’s WTFX-TV, a Fox station, revoked for broadcasting Fox News programs that promoted Donald Trump’s election denialism after the 2020 vote.
Rosenworcel’s statement acknowledged there were varying reasons for each dismissal, but that all sought to “weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment.”
As I’ve written for the blog, Trump’s pick for Rosenworcel’s position, Project 2025 author Brendan Carr, seems poised to serve as media attack dog if he’s confirmed. (Techdirt founder Mike Masnick also wrote a great breakdown for MSNBC of Carr’s threats against Disney.) In light of that threat, Rosenworcel’s statement framed Trump as the latest in a list of presidents who have waged assaults on the First Amendment.
She wrote:
Over the course of history, our government leaders have clashed with news organizations that cover their efforts. President John Adams, for instance, championed a law that made it illegal to print, utter, or publish malicious statements about the federal government. President Nixon targeted the license renewals of two television stations that were owned by the newspaper investigating his involvement in Watergate. More recently this threat to the First Amendment has taken on new forms, as the incoming President has called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke licenses for broadcast television stations because he disagrees with their content and coverage.
She continued:
It may seem quaint to draw attention like this to broadcast licenses, in an era when so many of us seek out information we want, when we want it, from where we want it, on any screen handy. But these stations remain a vital source of local and national news. And there is nothing antiquated about the idea that the FCC has a duty to respect the Constitution.
In a few short months, we’ll learn whether the FCC retains a semblance of independence or becomes an appendage that Trump and his allies can use to curtail speech they don’t like.
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