{"id":38421,"date":"2025-10-29T13:02:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T13:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/?p=38421"},"modified":"2025-11-22T21:14:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T21:14:17","slug":"public-knowledge-senior-vice-president-harold-feld-to-testify-before-senate-commerce-subcommittee-on-first-amendment-freedoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/public-knowledge-senior-vice-president-harold-feld-to-testify-before-senate-commerce-subcommittee-on-first-amendment-freedoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld To Testify Before Senate Commerce Subcommittee on First Amendment Freedoms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld will testify<\/a> before the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband Wednesday, October 29 at 10:30 a.m. His testimony<\/a> in the hearing on \u201cPart II of Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans<\/a>\u201d will urge Congress to rise above partisan politics and defend the First Amendment from the Trump administration. As the testimony explains, Congress must act to protect free speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following is an excerpt from the testimony:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the most challenging areas of government policy is how to balance the important government interest in creating spaces for robust debate, ensuring the flow of necessary information, while simultaneously avoiding the twin dangers of government censorship or forced carriage of government propaganda. How can the government maintain the news and civic discourse necessary to sustain democracy without becoming the dictator of what people may say or hear?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, since President Trump was sworn into his second term, we have not had to worry about subtle intimidation or \u2018regulation by raised eyebrow.\u2019 We have seen an unambiguous pattern where the president has publicly boasted that he will take action against those who oppose his agenda or criticize him personally, and where the heads of theoretically independent agencies have rushed to make good on these threats. I will touch briefly on the actions of the [Federal Communications Commission]… Federal Trade Commission and other Executive Actions that reinforce the credibility of retaliation for expressing opinions contrary to those favored by the administration. These actions contrast not only with the actions of the Biden administration but also with the actions of the first Trump administration. It is this pattern of public statements and regulator actions that makes threats real, and gives them coercive power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cannot stress too much how consolidation \u2013 particularly in the hands of those who have proven themselves loyal to the current administration \u2013 amplifies the ability to control content on an unprecedented scale. Consider the recent statement in the New York Post that the president favors a takeover by Larry and David Ellison (who have been \u2018vetted\u2019 by the changes they have\u00a0made at CBS since it was acquired by Skydance) that any other bidders for Warner Bros \u2018are likely to face stiff hurdles from U.S. regulators.\u2019 The Omnicom merger, approved by the FTC, created a behemoth that overshadows the entire advertising industry, making it harder for advertisers to control the placement of their ads. Social media remains highly concentrated, giving a handful of opaque algorithms control over the vast majority of online discussions and access to news. And without net neutrality, internet providers may freely prioritize content that the administration favors and degrade content of its political opponents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is therefore critical for Congress to reassert itself as the protector of free speech and opponent of censorship, regardless of party. Chairman Cruz deserves credit for admonishing FCC Chairman Carr at a critical moment. If we want an open marketplace of ideas critical for democracy and self-governance, all members of Congress must act together to preserve free speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need laws that protect privacy so that people may say what they want without fear. We need laws that promote competition so that people have a choice in what they see, hear, and say. And we need to restore the principle of non-discrimination for broadband, a principle that has enjoyed bipartisan support even where parties remain split on the appropriate legal framework.\u201d

You may view the testimony<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld will testify before the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband Wednesday, October 29 at 10:30 a.m. His testimony in the hearing on \u201cPart II of Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans\u201d will urge Congress to rise above partisan politics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-38421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release","tag-free-expression"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPublic Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld To Testify Before Senate Commerce Subcommittee on First Amendment Freedoms - Public Knowledge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. 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