A bipartisan group of five former FCC commissioners, including two ex-chairmen, criticized the current FCC Chairman for reviving a news distortion complaint against CBS. They argue that the proceeding is unprecedented and poses a threat to First Amendment protections by potentially censoring media. The complaint, which was dismissed earlier, concerned the editing of a CBS interview with Kamala Harris, claiming it misrepresented her statements. The former officials asserted that CBS's editorial choices were protected under the First Amendment, reiterating the earlier dismissal's legality and expressing concern over the unusual proceedings pursued by the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr.
These comments are submitted to emphasize the unprecedented nature of this news distortion proceeding, and to express our strong concern that the Federal Communications Commission may be seeking to censor the news media in a manner antithetical to the First Amendment.
The transcript confirms that the editing choices at issue lie well within the editorial judgment protected by the First Amendment and that the Commission's January 16 dismissal of the complaint was legally correct.
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