The First Amendment and Broadcast Licenses: Why the FCC Can't Pull Them
Plus the App Store Freedom Act, AI, and more…
Free Speech: We joined Protect Democracy and a bipartisan coalition of former high-ranking FCC officials in opposition to petitions to deny renewal of ABC’s broadcast licenses—which ABC cites in its own opposition. Berin was quoted directly by USA Today, while TechFreedom was referenced by name in Deadline, The Wrap (paywall), The Desk and TV Technology. The comments were also mentioned by Reuters, The Guardian, Variety, Quartz Law360 (paywall) and MediaPost.
TechFreedom’s own opposition—only 73 pages!—explains why the FCC lacks the statutory and constitutional authority to force an early license renewal or prematurely terminate ABC’s broadcast licenses. We also explain why ABC’s employment practices are a pretext for retaliating against ABC for its speech, barred by both the Due Process Clause and the First Amendment.
We also joined an ACLU-organized open letter, signed by more than 20 civil liberties and free speech organizations, explaining why the First Amendment protects freedom of the press and precludes government coercion to achieve censorship. The effort was covered by Variety, The Desk, and The Wrap.
ASFA: Andy sent a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce expressing concerns about how the App Store Freedom Act blurs the line between consumer protection and competition.
Content Moderation: At TrustCon, we organized a panel on the growing political and legal campaign against content moderation and how government pressure, corporate incentives, and platform ownership are reshaping trust and safety. We were proud to be joined by former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.
Kids Safety: Reason mentioned Ari’s Substack essay, which argues that several online safety bills—including the KIDS Act and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)—violate the First Amendment.
Antitrust: Next Monday, August 3, Bilal will join a panel at George Washington University Law School to examine proposals designed to strengthen transparency and reduce opportunities for abuse following the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Slaughter.
AI: Young Voices promoted a short-form video highlighting Andy’s Wall Street Journal (paywall) article examining the constitutional issues surrounding private AI regulation.
Space: Communications Daily (paywall) mentioned Jim’s ex-parte comments urging revisions to the FCC’s Report and Order on Space Modernization for the 21st Century.
