Many Americans are rightly concerned about the status of free speech in the nation. There have been egregious attacks on the First Amendment — some of which have had a chilling effect on who says what where.
Brendan Carr is chair of the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. With Congressional oversight, the FCC is responsible for implementing and enforcing America’s communications law and regulations.
FCC commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the panel, sent a letter to Disney, parent of ABC and the subject of investigations launched by the FCC under Carr. In that letter she described as the FCC’s “sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control” against the company.
She continued: “Then I started watching the capitulation. We saw CBS settle its lawsuit with the president and then agree to terms that basically require an ombudsperson to oversee the content of the network in order to get its transaction approved by the FCC. We saw ABC, of course, settle its lawsuit and I grew more and more and more concerned about the fact that this capitulation breeds capitulation.”
She wrote: “(I) had two goals in mind. One was to basically put on the record and call out everything that this FCC has done to try to bring Disney to heel but also to encourage it and other broadcasters to stiffen their spine. We know, based on the record of this administration, every time it gets taken to court for these violations of the First Amendment and against the freedom of the press, it loses.”
The AP writes: “Her message was simple: Fight back. She argued that Disney’s controversial decision to pay a $15 million defamation settlement shortly before Trump returned to office did the company little good and set a bad precedent for the rest of the industry.”
Across the ranks of government, and even within the Republican Party now, we are seeing a pushback on the Trump administration. For Gomez to scream into the hurricane is a bold move — one that should inspire and motivate.
There is another irony here: While that plays out, Gomez’s term is slated to end June 30. But unless Trump fires her, she’s likely to remain at the agency, where her presence allows for a quorum that gives Carr the opportunity to keep enacting his agenda. Given the Senate’s narrow divide, it would be hard for Trump to muscle through a replacement.
When it comes to the Freedom of Speech, we need to be fighting back.
(Excerpted courtesy of Steve Pappas, The Times Argus)
