By Jenna Monnin The FCC is reviewing whether “The View” qualifies for the equal-time exemption for its political interviews. News programs are exempt from federal law that requires equal time for political candidates’ viewpoints, and ABC says that its show meets the requirements as a “bona fide news interview program.” The comments, by and large, […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 18, 2026 — NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Future of Free Speech, joined by the ACLU, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the Center for Democracy & Technology, has submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to reaffirm that The View qualifies as a bona fide news interview program under […]
By Joe Lancaster The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering new content ratings for TV shows that depict or discuss gender identity. Doing so would be well outside the FCC’s legal authority, and some free speech organizations warn that such a request could constitute a violation of the First Amendment. At the direction of the Telecommunications […]
By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff This essay is adapted from The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy’s Most Essential Freedom (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026) European democracies hold free and fair elections, ensure peaceful transfers of power, and maintain a vibrant media landscape. Their independent judiciaries hold governments accountable if they […]
By Jacob Mchangama Three days after securing a landslide victory in Hungary’s parliamentary election, incoming prime minister Peter Magyar appeared on the country’s state broadcaster for the first time in 18 months and labeled it a “factory of lies” peddling “propaganda” worthy of North Korea and Goebbels. Magyar’s hostility reflects the well-documented media capture that […]
By Angele Latham and Evan Mealins A judge will soon weigh whether to release Nashville news reporter Estefany Rodriguez from custody after her arrest by immigration authorities in early March drew nationwide attention. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement arrested Rodriguez, who works for local news outlet Nashville Noticias, during a March 4 traffic stop in South […]
By Karen Zraick A federal judge in Texas has dismissed Exxon Mobil’s bombshell defamation lawsuit against environmental groups that it had accused of trying to sabotage its recycling business in collusion with an Australian mining magnate. But the judge allowed a parallel case against California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, to proceed. [ . . . […]
By Sammy Westfall The Macrons are fighting the defamation claims in France’s criminal courts. “While France prioritizes reputation protections, the U.S. champions a national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be ‘uninhibited, robust, and wide-open,’” said Jacob Mchangama, executive director of the Future of Free Speech think tank at Vanderbilt University, […]
By Zachary Wolf Trump’s complete turnabout on speech is indicative of the contradictions and ironies in the bedrock principle of the American liberties in the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment. While Trump came to office promising to restore free speech, particularly on college campuses and on social media, he’s now engaged in a […]
Legal scholars and free speech advocates warned Wednesday that Federal Communications Commission Chairman BrendanCarr ’s increasingly vocal interventions in broadcast content decisions were edging toward coercion. [ . . . ] Ashkhen Kazaryan, senior legal fellow for the Future of Free Speech, cautioned that “jawboning,” or political pressure on media, was not confined to one […]