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Jessica Rosenworcel, the chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has made a habit of batting down “threats against free speech” in the run-up to the November elections.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
First, it was ABC News, but now former President Donald Trump has turned his sights on one of their main competitors: CBS.
Trump’s recent comments, made last week following a CBS News interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, elicited yet another response from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
In the comments, posted on Truth Social, Trump called the CBS interview with Harris a “fake news scam.”
“Take away the CBS license,” he posted, in all caps, followed by the term “election interference.”
A statement from Rosenworcel was released shortly after Trump posted about the CBS News interview with Harris.
“While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former president may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored,” Rosenworcel stated. “As I’ve said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy.”
Previously, Rosenworcel spoke out in September after Trump targeted ABC News, calling for the government “to take away their license for the way they did that” following the presidential debate.
As she did in September, Rosenworcel called attention to the FCC’s role as a licenser.
“The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage,” she said, according to her office’s Oct. 10 release.
Days earlier, Rosenworcel also weighed into an ongoing controversy in Florida, after a political advertisement pushed the state’s health department to send a cease-and-desist letter to broadcast stations.
“The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment,” Rosenworsel stated on Oct. 8. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”
Rosenworcel’s office said her Oct. 8 comments related to “threats made by government officials in Florida against broadcast stations for airing a political ad,” according to the statement released.
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