Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are taking dangerous and unprecedented steps to weaken the media’s First Amendment rights, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress that highlights actions taken against the CBS network and its corporate parent, Paramount.
The Trump administration is using threats, demands, and a baseless private lawsuit to allege that CBS illegally tried to sway the 2024 election against Trump, actions that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is reinforcing via regulatory processes.
Government threats and retribution against the media are favorite tools of authoritarians abroad, and without a course correction, these tools threaten media independence in the United States, the analysis says. This series of events raises troubling questions about how an independent agency can misuse regulatory powers—which are meant to be exercised in the public interest—in politicized ways.
The analysis argues that the practices of Trump and the FCC—including seemingly ignoring established legal processes and aggregating power—could transform the press from a vigilant watchdog into a weakened lapdog.
Read the analysis: “The Trump Administration and the FCC Are Weakening Freedom of the Press and Hurting Americans” by Michael Sozan
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].