Outgoing FCC Chair Rejects Four Media Complaints

Jessica Rosenworcel, the outgoing Democrat chair of the Federal Communications Commission, said her agency needs to stand up for the First Amendment.

With days left in her term, Rosenworcel announced she is dismissing four pending petitions and complaints before the FCC she believes "seek to curtail freedom of the press," CNN reported.

Three of the petitions related to coverage of the presidential campaign while one was a complaint about Fox News Channel.

"The facts and legal circumstances in each of these cases are different," Rosenworcel wrote. "But what they share is that they seek to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment. To do so would set a dangerous precedent. That is why we reject it here."

The complainants will be able to refile after incoming chair Brendan Carr takes over upon President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Rosenworcel said she hopes her rejection sends a broader message, CNN reported.

"We draw a bright line at a moment when clarity about government interference with the free press is needed more than ever," Rosenworcel’s statement said. "The action we take makes clear two things. First, the FCC should not be the President’s speech police. Second, the FCC should not be journalism’s censor-in-chief."

Three of the complaints were filed by the Center of American Rights, a conservative nonprofit. One complaint said ABC News favored Vice President Kamala Harris during the presidential debate, another was about how CBS News edited an interview with Harris, and the third complained about Harris' appearance on "Saturday Night Live" because Trump didn't get equal time.

In dismissing the complaints, Rosenworcel said the FCC is showing it is not the U.S. government's role to penalize broadcast televisions because they dislike station behavior, content or coverage.

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