Welcome to “Hijacking the public interest: How the FCC and IRS have politicized free speech,” a remote webinar event with Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), to discuss the Trump administration’s attacks on broadcast licensees and nonprofit organizations.
We’re be joined by:
– Anna Gomez, commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission
– Ezra Reese, political law chair at Elias Law Group
– Caitlin Vogus (moderator), senior adviser at FPF
Various officials have seized on vague language from FCC and IRS rules and policies to claim that broadcasters or nonprofits aren’t operating in the “public interest” or for the “public benefit,” when what they essentially mean is that they’re not serving the president’s agenda.
Today we’ll discuss the administration’s efforts to punish and censor broadcasters and nonprofits, including the origins of the “public interest” standard, what it means and doesn’t mean, and how we can ensure it isn’t weaponized again in the future.