CMDG Condemns FCC Decision to Eliminate Checks on Media Consolidation
WASHINGTON – On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to effectively eliminate a rule, enshrined in federal statute, that places limits on TV media consolidation, and that the agency had no authority to change or repeal.
In response, the Center for Media & Digital Governance director, Dr. Courtney Radsch, issued the following statement:
“In yet another illegal usurpation of authority it does not have, the formerly independent FCC voted 2-1 to repeal a Congress-mandated cap over TV media consolidation.
“This decision effectively places FCC Chair Brendan Carr in open defiance of Congress, and it gives us yet again another reason to call for removing him from his post.
“The fact that the FCC is led by an official who so bluntly downplays the perverse harms of consolidation in media markets is a travesty for a media regulator that once set the world standard for independence.
“If big TV media wants to compete more fairly with Big Tech, the answer is the break-up of such tech platforms, not to lift ownership limits that will reduce choice, pluralism, and diversity in the media that millions of Americans watch every day.”
The rule in question, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004, prohibits broadcast TV corporations from reaching more than 39% of U.S. households. Congress deemed consolidation in media markets to harm the public interest. The FCC has now illegally decided this is no longer the case, moving to review TV media mergers requests under the assumption that this cap no longer serves the public interest.
See more of CMDG’s work regarding the FCC’s latest actions here:
Freedom Groups Urge FCC Not to Abandon Checks on Corporate Media Consolidation
Vigorous Bipartisan Condemnation of FCC for Media Censorship Erupts at Senate Commerce Hearing
FCC’s Brendan Carr Is Turning FCC Into State Censorship Bureau
Broad Coalition Say FCC Must Reject Illegal Nexstar–TEGNA Merger
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The Center for Media and Digital Governance (CMDG) at the Open Markets Institute investigates concentrated power over digital infrastructure, AI systems, and information markets through research, convening, and advocacy. We develop policy frameworks promoting democratic governance and serving the public interest rather than private gatekeepers. Learn more and sign up for updates at www.cmdg.tech and follow our Information & Power Substack here.