The Knight First Amendment Institute today joined TechFreedom and more than 75 civil society organizations, scholars, and former Federal Communications Commission officials in a letter urging FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to stop pressuring news broadcasters over their coverage. The letter argues that recent threats by Carr and President Trump—including suggestions that broadcasters could lose their licenses over alleged “fake news”—constitute unconstitutional jawboning and threaten press freedom.

The letter raises particular concern about Carr’s use of the FCC’s “public interest” standard as a tool to target viewpoints disfavored by the Trump administration. It explains that the standard does not authorize the FCC to police editorial decisions or penalize protected speech, and warns that vague and selective enforcement risks chilling lawful reporting. The First Amendment, the letter emphasizes, does not permit the government to coerce private actors or reshape the content of the news. The coalition calls on the FCC to withdraw its threats and make clear that it will not use its regulatory authority to influence or control press coverage.

In 2024, the Knight Institute launched “Jawboning and the First Amendment,” a research initiative examining how informal government pressure can function as a form of censorship, why it matters, and what legal and policy responses can address its harms.

Read today’s letter here.