Lisa Macpherson

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.

Today, a D.C. District Court Judge ruled that Meta did not violate antitrust law when it acquired Instagram & WhatsApp in the case FTC v. Meta. The FTC had argued that Meta (parent company of Facebook) used those acquisitions to maintain its dominance by neutralizing emerging competitive threats.

Yesterday, an Executive Order designed to prevent states from regulating AI within their own borders was leaked. If signed, this Executive Order would establish an AI litigation “task force” at the Justice Department to threaten, harass, & sue states that pass any bill deemed “unlawful.”

Former Officials: FCC’s Independence ‘Obliterated’ Under Carr The FCC now serves political interests instead of the public, former agency officials said.

Former regulators accused FCC Chair Brendan Carr of “obliterating” the agency's credibility as an independent regulatory body at the People’s Oversight Hearing hosted today by @publicknowledge.bsky.social. Experts and advocates also discussed the FTC, CFPB.

broadbandbreakfast.com/former-offic...

Graphic with text that reads, "The People's Oversight Hearing. Wednesday November 12 9 AM to 4 PM. True Reformer Building 1200 U St NW #3 Washington, DC 20009. Live-stream available. https://publicknowledge.org/oversight

Happening this week! Don't miss our upcoming in-person event "The People's Oversight Hearing." We are 10 months into the 119th Congress, and American has yet to see an oversight hearing for independent agencies such as the FCC, FTC and CFPB — so we've decided to host our own.

From the "saw this one coming" department: in a recent blog post @publicknowledge.bsky.social noted that "When compared to the actual rules and practices of the Motion Picture Association it purports to emulate, Instagram’s claim [of PG-13 content] falls apart."

publicknowledge.org/instagram-pg...

Harold Feld Senate Commerce Testimony on First Amendment Freedoms

For more on what the hearing was SUPPOSED to be about - defending the First Amendment from the Trump administration - read @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague and SVP @haroldfeld.bsky.social testimony here:

publicknowledge.org/policy/harol...

The Conservative Political Playbook Driving the FTC Platform Censorship Inquiry | TechPolicy.Press Public Knowledge policy director Lisa Macpherson outlines how the FTC could use its authority to enhance content moderation and safeguard online speech.

The claim is rooted in a years-long, escalating series of claims that digital platforms systematically censor conservative political speech. Now it's extended to AI chatbots. More about the history here:

www.techpolicy.press/the-conserva...

What Does Research Tell Us About Technology Platform “Censorship”? | TechPolicy.Press Public Knowledge policy director Lisa Macpherson shares insights from a review of eight years of research on political content moderation.

Despite a stated focus on jawboning, this Senate Commerce hearing keeps circling back to "conservative censorship" on digital platforms. We have the receipts on that: it's not a thing.

techpolicy.press/what-does-re...

Congress should 1) call it out; 2) restore the independence of agencies; 3) promote transparency; 4) address the concentration of ownership in media and digital platforms; 5) consider legislation to introduce competition to the digital platform space; 6) consider cross-ownership limits in media.

For example, FCC Chair Brendan Carr has sacrificed the independence of the agency and repeatedly used the very real power of the FCC over licensees to meddle in content decisions that past FCC Chairs of both parties have considered off limits. Congress must act to draw clear lines in the sand.

In the Senate Commerce hearing @haroldfeld.bsky.social notes that coercive jawboning = a government contact + actual power to punish or reward the speaker + sufficient evidence that the government official intends to use that power. Jawboning is occurring regularly in this administration.

**NEW TIME AND WITNESS UPDATE** Part II of Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans 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 “Shut Your App: How Uncle Sa...

NOW: @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague and SVP @haroldfeld.bsky.social testifies in Senate Commerce hearing on Uncle Sam and jawboning. He'll urge Congress to act to protect free speech from the Trump administration.
Watch here:

www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/10/part...

…and my heart.

Instagram's Borrowed Credibility: Why its “PG-13 Ratings” Initiative Falls Short The social media platform's new content rating system has some major differences from its film industry counterpart.

Though the name might sound familiar, Instagram's new PG-13 ratings system has little in common with its film industry counterpart. The latest from Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social:

publicknowledge.org/instagram-pg...

Last week, news media lobbyists flocked to the Hill to lobby for what they describe as “legislation to protect and support quality journalism” — which may very well include the embattled Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, or the #JCPA.

From IceBlock site: ICEBlock Removed Following pressure from the Trump administration, Apple has removed ICEBlock from the App Store. We are incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions. Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move. Apple has claimed they received information from law enforcement that ICEBlock served to harm law enforcement officers. This is patently false. ICEBlock is no different from crowd sourcing speed traps, which every notable mapping application, including Apple's own Maps app, implements as part of its core services. This is protected speech under the first amendment of the United States Constitution. We are determined to fight this with everything we have. Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to reign down on the people of this nation. We will not be deterred. We will not stop. #resist

Apple removing ICEBlock, a legal app for monitoring ICE activity, from its app store at the behest of the federal government mirrors what it has done in other regimes. www.iceblock.app

Brendan Carr Plans to Keep Going After the Media

“This is a level of censorship we haven’t seen in my lifetime.” @publicknowledge.bsky.social President and CEO @chrisjlewis.bsky.social weighs in with @nytimes.com on FCC Chair Carr's campaign against so-called "liberal bias" in media:

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/t...