In response to the words of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a bipartisan group of former FCC chairs and commissioners is now urging the agency to permanently repeal its news distortion policy, arguing that it allows for political abuse of broadcasters’ editorial freedom and the First Amendment.
Among the petitioners are former FCC Chairs Mark Fowler, Dennis Patrick, Alfred Sikes, and Thomas Wheeler, joined by former Commissioners Andrew Barrett, Rachelle Chong, and Ervin Duggan, as well as former FCC General Counsel Christopher Wright and senior staff veterans Kathryn Brown, Jerald Fritz, and Peter Pitsch.
The 42-page document, filed immediately following the reopening of the federal government, was filed jointly on behalf of the leaders by the Protect Democracy Project, TechFreedom, G Squared Strategies, and communications attorney Andrew Jay Schwartzman.
Together, the group argues that the news distortion policy “seeks to mold the speech of private broadcasters to the FCC’s own view of what is correct, complete, and accurate news.” They contend this contradicts both the US Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Moody v. NetChoice, which reaffirmed that government has no role in “un-biasing” private expression, and the Communications Act, which expressly denies the FCC “the power of censorship.”
“The First Amendment forbids the government from embarking on such a project,” the petition reads, describing the policy’s existence as “a vestigial organ” that “casts an omnipresent shadow over broadcasters’ freedom of expression.”
The news distortion policy dates back to 1949, when the FCC first asserted that broadcasters must not “distort or suppress the basic factual information upon which any truly fair and free discussion of public issues must necessarily depend.” It was originally seen as a complement to the Fairness Doctrine, but unlike that rule, which the FCC abolished in 1987, the news distortion policy has never been formally repealed.
Petitioners argue that the policy has outlived its purpose and now poses greater risk than benefit. They note that over six decades, the FCC has found violations in only eight cases, typically for outright hoaxes or fabrications; conduct already covered under the FCC’s broadcast hoax rule adopted in 1992. “Such cases are now covered by the FCC’s broadcast hoax rule, rendering the news distortion policy redundant,” the petition says.
More troubling, the group writes, is how recent FCC leadership has invoked the policy in ways that threaten to politicize newsroom decisions. The filing points to instances where the Commission has “opened or threatened to open investigations against private broadcasters due to disagreements with editorial decisions or statements made in a comedic monologue.” The petition calls this “the specter of government interference” that “chills broadcasters’ speech and suppresses their message.”
Petitioners specifically reference comments by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who has publicly criticized major networks for alleged “news distortion” and referenced the policy in connection with their coverage of controversial topics. “Purporting to apply the policy,” the petition says, “Chairman Carr has used the power of the FCC to question the precise words an outlet uses to describe an individual, as well as the outlet’s decisions about which facts are relevant enough to include.”
The filing warns that “the vast scope and vague language of the news distortion policy” make it inherently open to partisan weaponization. It describes the current environment as one in which “broadcasters are more likely to meaningfully alter their news coverage in ways that align with the current administration’s preferred narratives.”
Quoting the Supreme Court’s Moody decision, the petition emphasizes that “on the spectrum of dangers to free expression, there are few greater than allowing the government to change the speech of private actors in order to achieve its own conception of speech nirvana.” The signatories urge the FCC to “recognize that it may not investigate or penalize broadcasters for ‘distorting,’ ‘slanting,’ or ‘staging’ the news, unless the broadcast independently meets the high standard for broadcasting a dangerous hoax.”
The petition concludes by stating that the policy “fails to serve the public interest, but also disserves it,” warning that its existence undermines both journalistic independence and constitutional principle. “Freedom of speech is the linchpin of technological innovation and progress,” it says. “In a culture of free speech, more ideas are considered by more people, producing a hypergolic effect on scientific progress – one of the major forces that keeps the free world free.”
Sitting Commissioner Anna Gomez quickly voiced her agreement on the matter in a formal statement. “The FCC does not have the authority, the ability, or the constitutional right to go after broadcasters for their news content…Nevertheless, this FCC has deployed a vague and ineffective News Distortion policy as a weapon to stretch its licensing authority and pressure newsrooms.
“The First Amendment is a pillar of our democracy. As federal regulators, we must respect the rule of law, uphold the Constitution, and ensure that a free press is never subjected to regulatory interference by the FCC.”
