Former heads of the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday called on the agency to repeal the “news distortion” policy invoked by the Trump administration this year.
The policy, which had not been invoked for decades prior to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr mentioning it in discussions surrounding an allegedly deceptively edited 60 Minutes video and an incident where late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel made controversial statements about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The policy was petitioned for repeal by the Protect Democracy Project. The organization filed the petition on behalf of a group of former FCC commissioners who claim the Trump administration misused the policy.
“In the right hands, it could stop misinformation, disinformation, what have you. But the problem is, it’s never been used that way, and the FCC has other tools,” said Gigi Sohn, an adviser to the petition. “Right now, it’s being used as a cudgel. And this is not just about Chair Carr. This is about future chairs or commissioners who want to use this as a tool of censorship.”
The five Democratic and two Republican former commissioners who served in the agency from 1981 to 2017 argued that the policy was not applied to its intended purpose, which is to regulate a communications channel that has “deliberately distorted a factual news report.”
The group’s petition stated that when enforced, the policy “must involve a significant event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of the news report,” adding that “expressions of opinion or errors stemming from mistakes are not actionable.”
“Though these former officials hold diverse views on many policy issues, they are united in their belief that the news distortion policy violates First Amendment principles, chills broadcaster speech, and can be exploited for partisan purposes,” the Protect Democracy Project wrote.
The petition arose after the agency reprimanded ABC News for its alleged inaction against Kimmel after he made controversial comments suggesting that Kirk’s suspected killer was part of the MAGA movement and not a radicalized left-winger, despite reports suggesting the latter.
“FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s recent invocation of the policy to threaten ABC and Disney for airing late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s commentary about Charlie Kirk’s murder — a clear example of how the policy enables government officials to target outlets for perceived critical coverage,” the organization added.
The FCC invoked the policy against CBS News in February, after it was alleged that its news program 60 Minutes intentionally deceived viewers through edits made to an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
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CBS News’s parent company, Paramount, agreed to a $16 million settlement with the president in June, months after Trump sued the outlet.
The group has not said whether it would take legal action if the petition is ignored or rejected by the Trump administration. However, Sohn affirmed that if the petition were to be ignored, it would give the organization a stronger basis for a lawsuit.