The FTC’s New Settlement With Ad Agencies Still Misses the Point The FTC and a coalition of eight states reached settlements with three advertising agencies to resolve a complaint about whether the agencies had worked with third parties to anticompetitively boycott...

Advertisers avoiding placing ads next to harmful or misleading content isn’t “censorship” – it's capitalism at work. So why is the FTC treating it like a conspiracy? Read the latest from Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social:

publicknowledge.org/the-ftcs-new...

Senate Commerce is holding an FTC oversight hearing this morning. Curiously, in announcing the hearing, Chair Cruz pointed to Biden FTC Chair Khan as "weaponizing the agency" as justification for the hearing... but Khan is long gone.

Chair Ferguson & Commissioner Meador are witnesses

From public funding to community ownership to antitrust enforcement, there's a whole suite of policy options for saving local news. In her 2023 white paper, @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social makes the case for how to make the most of them. #LocalNewsDay

On the White House AI Framework (If You Could Call It That) The Trump administration's National AI Framework falls short of offering Americans any real mechanisms for accountability or oversight.

In late March, the @whitehouse-47.bsky.social released its National AI Legislative Framework — but the "framework" part of it seems to be missing. Read the latest from @natpurser.bsky.social:

Murthy v. Missouri Settlement Does Nothing To Combat Illegal Jawboning The social media lawsuit Murthy v. Missouri, originally filed as Missouri v. Biden, has finally come to an end.

Last week, the Trump administration moved to settle Murthy v. Missouri — but the core issue at hand remains unresolved. Read the latest from Policy Analyst @mwils.bsky.social:

publicknowledge.org/murthy-v-mis...

“If verdicts continue along the lines of the NM and CA cases, we may see more concrete changes to platform design -- a prefered outcome than forcing platform changes via any new law that could very well stifle real free expression online.”

Public Knowledge Continues To Oppose Bill Paywalling the Law Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.

Senators @coons.senate.gov and Cornyn just reintroduced the PRO CODES Act, a bill that would extend copyright to safety and fire codes, effectively putting the law behind a paywall.

Public Knowledge and 22 other organizations are pushing back. Here is why it matters:

Liability or Deniability? Platform Power as Section 230 Turns 30 WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee hearing titled “Liability or Deniability? Pl...

Another Congressional hearing today related to online speech! Right now, Senate Commerce committee is holding a hearing "Liability or Deniability? Platform Power as Section 230 Turns 30".

Witnesses range from Section 230 abolishers, to reformers, to absolutists.

I'll be tracking the hearing 🧵

Brendan Carr Once Defended Free Speech. Now He Is Trump’s Chief Censor. Republicans criticized the Biden administration for silencing dissenting voices. Now that they're in power, those First Amendment worries have evaporated.

Just sayin'

Brendan Carr Once Defended Free Speech. Now He Is Trump’s Chief Censor. www.thefp.com/p/brendan-ca...

Newsonomics: Will national news shrink even faster than local news did? "The sweep of changes we see has one main cause: the political effort to stifle robust national journalism."

"....make no mistake, the sweep of changes we see has one main cause: the political effort to stifle robust national journalism."

www.niemanlab.org/2026/03/news...

Public Knowledge Warns Against Bills Limiting Children’s Internet Access, Barring States from Protecting Kids Online Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.

Today, @housecommerce.bsky.social marked up a series of kids’ online safety bills limiting young people’s autonomy and internet access — many of which shift responsibility for product safety from the platforms designing unsafe products onto families instead. Our statement from @mwils.bsky.social:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: More than a Seat: Who Gets to Shape Tech Policy. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Following the release of the second Diversity in Technology Policy Study, Public Knowledge will host a public webinar to reflect on the findings, track progress since the first report, and examine whe...

Who gets to shape technology policy? @publicknowledge.bsky.social announces the release of a new report, “Diversity in Early-Career Tech Policy Roles: Surveying Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities in the Field.” Join us for our upcoming webinar! RSVP:

publicknowledge.org/diversityint...

Graphic with Public Knowledge and Howard University logo. Text that reads, "The Telecommunications Act of 1996 at 30: An Analysis of Policy, Power, and the Public Interest. Tuesday, February 24, 2026. 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET. Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library. 4th Floor Open Space Atrium. 501 W. Street, NW Washington, DC 20059"

On Tuesday Feb. 24 at 3:00 p.m., join @publicknowledge.bsky.social and the Cathy Hughes School of Communications Department of Communications Studies at @howard.edu for a landmark discussion celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996!

You are correct. It is NOT the law. You can get the actual version of the law here: publicknowledge.org/equal-time-u...

Which also predicts this will be used as an *excuse* by those who want to appease Trump, and this gives them political cover.
/1

REPRESENTATIVE MORELLE, SENATOR LUJÁN INTRODUCE FAIR REPAIR ACT (Washington, D.C.)—Today, Congressman Joe Morelle and Senator Ben Ray Luján introduced the Fair Repair Act, legislation to guarantee consumers and small businesses a right to repair their own products by requiring manufacturers to make diagnostic repair information, parts, and tools readily available.

CDT’s George Slover: "This important legislation helps ensure that in the Age of Technology, consumers still have the basic right they have enjoyed for centuries -- the right to choose where and how we fix what we own.” #FairRepairAct

Graphic of a cell phone receiving notifications from various apps, with text that reads: Public Knowledge. Section 230 30th anniversary

Keeping #Section230 as is would be politically untenable, but thoughtful reform can address real harms without incentivizing platforms to silence speech or creating barriers that only #BigTech can overcome.

Congressional lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are gearing up for #Section230 repeal, but this could mean an end to social media as we know it.

Don Lemon arrested by federal authorities after protest at Minnesota church service Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a Friday post on X that Lemon was arrested alongside three others "in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota."

Make no mistake: The arrest of @donlemonofficial.bsky.social along with three other journalists for doing their jobs marks the next step in the Trump administration's attack on free speech and the free press. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Equal Time, Unequal Enforcement: The Latest Move to Weaponize the FCC Against Trump Critics As the 2026 election season approaches, FCC Chair Brendan Carr seems to be seeking new ways to weaponize the law on Trump's behalf.

Last week, FCC Chair Carr announced that broadcasters can't rely on 20+ years of precedent saying talk shows are bona fide newscasts exempt from the equal opportunity rule.

As @haroldfeld.bsky.social notes, "for my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law."

publicknowledge.org/equal-time-u...

Grok, ‘Censorship,’ & the Collapse of Accountability Grok’s nudification scandal shows how “free speech” rhetoric is being used to obscure any ethical responsibility for real-world harm.

"The Grok debacle reinforces how hollow 'censorship' is as an epithet... Lawmakers who usually clamor to protect children online did not speak up, afraid of being branded 'censorial.'" Insightful perspective from @berinszoka.bsky.social and @noupside.bsky.social

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/grok...

Graphic of a cell phone receiving notifications from various apps, with text that reads: Public Knowledge. Section 230 30th anniversary

Calls from congressional leaders to repeal #Section230 aren't new – and Public Knowledge's position isn't either. Back in 2024, @housecommerce.bsky.social introduced legislation to "sunset" the law by the end of 2025, which would have had serious consequences for our free expression online.

Graphic of a cell phone receiving notifications from various apps, with text that reads: Public Knowledge. Section 230 30th anniversary

This February, #Section230 of the Communications Decency Act turns 30 years old! 🎉 For three decades, these 26 words have protected free expression, enabled innovation, and made it possible for everyday people to speak, create, and organize online.

Let's keep the fight for our digital rights going in 2026! Make your contribution today: publicknowledge.org/end-of-year-...
#techpolicy #fightcensorship #technology #holidays

Great emoji game on this one

Got an eye for design, a multimedia or journalism background, or strategic communications experience? Apply for our Spring 2026 Communications Internship! Learn more: publicknowledge.org/commsintern

The House Throws Spaghetti at the Wall with Messy Kids Online Safety Package After years of hearings about kids’ safety online, Congress still has little to show for its efforts.

After years of hearings about kids’ safety online, Congress still has little to show for its efforts — and last week's hearing showed few signs of progress. Read the breakdown from Policy Analyst @mwils.bsky.social:

publicknowledge.org/the-kids-pac...

Last night,
@publicknowledge.bsky.social and @freepress.bsky.social
made sure FCC Chairman Brendan Carr got the message loud and clear: serve the public and hands off our #FirstAmendment rights! Learn more about how we're resisting censorship at publicknowledge.org

Tomorrow at 10:15 EST, @housecommerce.bsky.social is hosting a hearing titled "Legislative Solutions To Protect Children And Teens Online," in which lawmakers will discuss a package of 19 bills aimed at making kids safer online.

In March 2025, President Trump fired both Democrat Commissioners from FTC for the sole stated reason of disagreement with their policy views — an illegal act under existing statute governing the agency. Now, the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to change the law.