Telecommunications experts worry that President Joe Biden's decision to put a career political activist on the Federal Communications Commission could transform the agency into a bludgeon for the administration to attack conservatives.
Katie McAuliffe, the executive director of the pro-market nonprofit Digital Liberty, said Sohn has one major outlet to hamstring conservative media: She could "Use the broadcast licensing regime to challenge someone's use of the airwaves."
Television networks need to obtain an FCC license to broadcast on the air.
If confirmed, Sohn will be one of five commissioners who rule on broadcast licensure.
After right-leaning network Sinclair in 2018 called off a merger with Tribune Broadcasting, Sohn questioned whether "Sinclair is qualified to be a broadcast licensee at all." She has also called for congressional investigations into Fox News for broadcasting "Few if any opposing viewpoints."
Licensure is not the only area in which Sohn has called for more aggressive FCC intervention.
She last year endorsed the activist group Free Press after the group petitioned the FCC to make greater use of the "Broadcast hoax" rule, which allows the agency to intervene when broadcasts cause "Substantial public harm" to the public interest.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction, and unfortunately the media has a strong bias. They spin stories to make conservatives look bad and will go to great lengths to avoid reporting on the good that comes from conservative policies. There are a few shining lights in the media landscape-brave conservative outlets that report the truth and offer a different perspective. We must support conservative outlets like this one and ensure that our voices are heard.
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