Outgoing FCC chair rejects high-profile TV petitions as attempt to ‘weaponize’ government

The outgoing Democratic chair of the Federal Communications Commission is taking bold action on the way out the door, rejecting what she described as four efforts to weaponize the government’s TV licensing authority for political purposes.

The outgoing Democratic chair of the Federal Communications Commission is taking bold action on the way out the door, rejecting what she described as four efforts to weaponize the government’s TV licensing authority for political purposes. Activists on both the right and left may be disappointed. But chair Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency needs to “take a stand on behalf of the First Amendment.” So on Thursday, according to a statement obtained by CNN, she is dismissing all of the pending petitions and complaints before the FCC that, she asserted, “seek to curtail freedom of the press.” One of the petitions targeted a Fox-owned TV station in an attempt to hold the Murdochs accountable for Fox News Channel’s falsehoods. The other three efforts were pro-Trump in nature and related to the recent presidential campaign. “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.” Rosenworcel is not just tidying up before her term ends on Jan. 20, she is trying to convince others about the value of a clean house. She is clearly concerned that President-elect Donald Trump might use the agency that oversees US telecommunications to punish media outlets he doesn’t like.