The FCC’s News Distortion Policy should be rescinded

November 13, 2025
Share

In November 2025, a bipartisan coalition of seven former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairs and commissioners, including five Republicans, and senior staff filed a formal petition calling on the FCC to rescind its news distortion policy — an outdated rule that has increasingly been weaponized to chill press freedom and silence critical journalism.

Read the full petition Read the full petition

The petition, filed by Protect Democracy and TechFreedom with longtime consumer advocates Gigi Sohn and Andrew Jay Schwartzman, brings together experts who served the Commission from 1981 through 2017. 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 filing comes in response to 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.

Background

What is the News Distortion Policy?

Created in 1949, the News Distortion Policy gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broad power to investigate and punish broadcasters for allegedly “distorting” the news. Though intended to protect free and fair discussion of public issues, it has become a tool that chills speech, invites abuse, and undermines First Amendment protections.

Even the FCC itself has acknowledged the dangers. In the 1970s, during controversy over alleged “news staging,” the Commission warned that attempts to “authenticate the news” would risk “omnipresent government censorship” and that it could not — and should not — judge whether news coverage is biased or true.

Despite these warnings, the policy remains in effect. And recent months have seen it invoked more aggressively than at any time in decades.

Three reasons why the government should not be in the business of eliminating news bias:

1. It violates First Amendment principles

As Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the Supreme Court majority in Moody v. NetChoice, LLC (2024), the government has no legitimate role in deciding what counts as the right balance of private expression. The Court made clear that “on the spectrum of dangers to free expression, there are few greater than allowing the government to change the speech of private actors to achieve its own conception of speech nirvana.”

Yet the news distortion policy enables the FCC to do exactly that.

2. It chills broadcaster speech

Between 1969 and 2019, the FCC found broadcasters liable for news distortion only eight times. Yet the mere existence of the policy pushes broadcasters to self-censor, avoiding controversial stories even when they serve the public interest.

The National Association of Broadcasters warns that the policy encourages stations to stick to bland, inoffensive content. Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (R, 2017-21) echoed this concern, saying he could hardly think of an action more chilling of free speech than the federal government investigating a broadcast situation because of disagreement with its news coverage.

This chilling effect harms not just broadcasters but the public, which loses access to the full range of information necessary for democratic participation.

3. It can be weaponized for partisanship

The News Distortion Policy gives any administration a tool to target outlets that provide unfavorable coverage. Chairman Carr’s recent threats against ABC and Disney demonstrate exactly this risk.

After ABC aired Jimmy Kimmel’s commentary on Charlie Kirk’s murder, Carr threatened to revoke the network’s licenses for alleged news distortion. The message was clear: Criticize those in power and face government retaliation.

As petitioners warn: What a Republican FCC Chairman can do today, a Democratic FCC Chairman could do tomorrow. The only solution is to eliminate this dangerous tool entirely.

As the Supreme Court has made clear, the government has no legitimate role in un-biasing or balancing the media. The news distortion policy allows the government to threaten censorship of speech it doesn’t like; it cannot stand.
Mark Fowler, Former FCC Chairman (R, 1981-87)

The Commission should focus on ensuring that all Americans are connected and have access to information and ideas — not imposing on broadcasters its vision of what presentation of the news is correct. The news distortion policy is being used by the current FCC leadership as a tool of speech coercion and that abuse will not stop until the agency repeals it.
Tom Wheeler, Former FCC Chairman (D, 2013-17)

The role of the FCC is not to police free speech. It is not for the federal government to decide what is biased any more than it is to decide what is news. Any policy that tempts government agencies to suppress speech they don’t like is bad policy — or worse, unconstitutional — and the News Distortion Policy is just that.
Conor Gaffney, Counsel, Protect Democracy

Freedom of speech is one of the core constitutional rights that makes the United States an exceptional country. The Supreme Court has ruled time and again that policing speech is not the government’s job. But make no mistake: Carr’s threats have worked despite their unconstitutionality. Critical speech has been, and will be, chilled. Repealing the News Distortion Policy is the best thing we can do to protect broadcaster speech in the short term.
Berin Szóka, President, TechFreedom

What we’re asking the FCC to do

The petition formally requests that the FCC:

Rescind the news distortion policy entirely
Reaffirm that the First Amendment and Communications Act prohibit the FCC from acting as a censor of speech or the press
Clarify the limited circumstances under which the FCC may appropriately investigate broadcaster speech through the existing Hoax Rule, which applies only when broadcasters knowingly air false information about crimes or catastrophes that could cause tangible public harm

If the FCC refuses to act, petitioners urge Congress to step in with legislation that bars the FCC from policing media bias — protecting free speech for generations to come.

A bipartisan coalition

The petition is supported by former FCC commissioners, chairs, and senior leadership who served the Commission from 1981 through 2017. Though they hold diverse views on many issues, they share a conviction that:

The News Distortion Policy is no longer justifiable under First Amendment doctrine
The policy is unnecessary in today’s diverse media environment
The policy poses an unacceptable risk of government abuse

This cross-partisan consensus demonstrates that protecting press freedom transcends politics. Free speech is not a partisan issue — it’s an American value.

Petition documents