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techfreedom.org
TechFreedom
@techfreedom.org
1.4K followers 23 following 290 posts
Think tank. We think about technology and freedom, esp. free speech, in 🇺🇸 & 🇪🇺. Hayek put it best: "it is in the technical discussion concerning administrative law that the fate of our liberty is being decided"
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TechFreedom.org
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techfreedom.org
🚨 FCC Chair Brendan Carr has threatened broadcasters over reporting about opinion polls to chill speech Trump dislikes. He’s misrepresenting the FCC’s authority and violating the First Amendment, as our letter explains—signed by 75+ scholars and civil society organizations.

tinyurl.com/4d2jtzc9
November 2, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by TechFreedom
aricohn.com
The latest in Carr's ongoing effort to exert government control over political information & discourse.

Today former FCC officials issued a statement (supported by @techfreedom.org & @protectdemocracy.org) calling this "a direct attack on free and fair elections."

techfreedom.org/former-fcc-o...
Statement: FCC Chair Brendan Carr's threat against broadcasters over their reporting on political polls is yet another truly outrageous attempt to censor and control the information available to Americans as they prepare to vote. We have watched with growing alarm as Chair Carr has unleashed a campaign of intimidation and retaliation against journalists to chill speech the administration dislikes. Carr is now seizing on reports about fabricated political polling as an excuse to once again try to scare broadcasters into self-censorship. Good-faith reporting on public polls—even ones that turn out to be made up—is not a violation of the FCC's news distortion or hoax rules. And the FCC has zero authority to dictate editorial decisions. Carr's threats to misuse the news distortion policy are dangerous and unconstitutional. A group of us urged the FCC to rescind the policy to prevent exactly this kind of abuse. The intimidation we are now seeing from Brendan Carr is part of an accelerating White House strategy to tilt the electoral playing field in the President's favor and deny election results that don't go his way. Making news outlets think twice before reporting on public polling is part of that effort. When its preferred candidates lose, the administration wants to be able to say that the results make no sense. Airing polls that show the electorate tilting away from the Presidents party makes that harder. So make no mistake: this is a direct attack on free and fair elections, which is especially concerning in the days and weeks when Americans are heading to the polls.
October 21, 2026 at 10:06 PM
techfreedom.org
Congress enacted the APA for a reason: to prevent agencies from changing the law without even soliciting public input.

@techfreedom.org filed comments challenging the FCC’s expanded political ad pricing rule, which would violate the First Amendment and administrative law.

tinyurl.com/ydzcns5f
October 14, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by TechFreedom
berinszoka.bsky.social
18 former FCC Chairs, Commissioners and senior leaders of both parties (mostly Republicans) urged the court to block Brendan Carr's flagrant abuses of power. See the led we at @techfreedom.org filed along with @protectdemocracy.org
techfreedom.org/fcc-threaten...
FCC Threatens Free Speech, Bipartisan Coalition of FCC Veterans Tells D.C. District Court
techfreedom.org
October 6, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by TechFreedom
aricohn.com
Today Senator Blackburn is expected to try ramming KOSA--the Kids Online Safety Act--through the Senate via unanimous consent.

KOSA was an Internet censorship bill in its inception, and in 4 years the only thing its authors have done is try to disguise KOSA's nature rather than fix it.
September 30, 2026 at 2:38 PM
techfreedom.org
How far can the government go when a president doesn’t like what a broadcaster says?

On a new Tech Policy Podcast, @aricohn.com and @berinszoka.bsky.social are joined by @thefireorg.bsky.social’s Bob Corn-Revere to unpack the escalating fight between ABC and the FCC.

tinyurl.com/5xzkj37n
440: The Fellas at the Freaking FCC | Tech Policy Podcast
How far can the government go when a president doesn’t like what a broadcaster says? Host Ari Cohn is joined by Berin Szóka (TechFreedom) and Bob Corn-Revere (FIRE) to unpack the escalating fight betw...
techfreedom.simplecast.com
September 24, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by TechFreedom
protectdemocracy.org
NEW: A bipartisan coalition of former FCC officials, represented by Protect Democracy and @techfreedom.org , filed an amicus brief supporting ABC's case against the FCC. This is the first time a federal court will weigh a First Amendment claim against Brendan Carr's FCC. Read the amicus:
Bipartisan coalition of former top FCC officials back ABC's First Amendment lawsuit against FCC
A bipartisan coalition of former FCC officials filed an amicus brief supporting ABC’s request for emergency relief in its lawsuit challenging the FCC’s early review of broadcast licenses.
protectdemocracy.org
September 18, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by TechFreedom
berinszoka.bsky.social
The FCC offers no response to ABC's arguments, ABC rightly tells the district court in its response to the FCC's motion to dismiss ABC's First Amendment lawsuit. Carr has weaponized the "public interest" to retaliate against speech he dislikes
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
September 17, 2026 at 8:56 PM
techfreedom.org
18 FCC veterans of both parties' support ABC’s First Amendment lawsuit to stop the FCC from jawboning ABC in retaliation for speech the President doesn’t like. Read the amicus brief we just filed with @protectdemocracy.org ⤵️

techfreedom.org/fcc-threaten...
September 17, 2026 at 5:00 PM
techfreedom.org
What if “harmful content” just means political beliefs someone disagrees with?

On the latest Tech Policy Podcast, new host @aricohn.com sits down with @taylorlorenz.bsky.social to unpack the free speech and privacy implications of laws like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

tinyurl.com/2b9yh6k9
August 21, 2026 at 1:56 PM
techfreedom.org
At last, ABC has sued the FCC over its retaliatory, unconstitutional campaign against ABC for broadcasting speech Trump dislikes—and refusing to carry Trump’s election fraud claims

ABC’s First Amendment arguments couldn't be stronger. Our press release ⤵️
August 18, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by TechFreedom
aricohn.com
Today Senate Commerce marks up several Bad Internet Bills, including KOSA - which for years experts have warned violates the 1st Amendment. Instead of fixing the problems, its sponsors denied they exist & tried to disguise them with obfuscatory language

My statement: techfreedom.org/kosa-still-v...
KOSA has been an Internet censorship bill from the start. It imposes what courts have refused—on First Amendment grounds—to impose for decades: a duty to protect listeners from subjective, unknowable reactions to constitutionally protected speech. It creates a "papers please" social media regime where every single social media user will be forced to identify themselves before speaking on social media, undermining their constitutional right to read and speak anonymously, and enabling government retaliation against disfavored ideas and expression. And it hands the Federal Trade Commission — which has of late granted itself the authority to enforce what it thinks customers should want rather than protect against actual deception — a ready-made tool to coerce platforms into removing speech it dislikes from the Internet. Despite years of warnings from experts and civil society across the political and ideological spectrum, KOSA's sponsors have stubbornly refused to acknowledge and fix these critical First Amendment problems. They have instead attempted to hide them behind increasingly obfuscatory language. But the First Amendment is not so easily fooled, and the Commerce Committee must put an end to this constitutional fiasco once and for all.
August 5, 2026 at 2:03 PM
techfreedom.org
📄 The FTC cannot police political bias in AI services.

Last week, @techfreedom.org filed comments explaining why the First Amendment and longstanding FTC precedent bar the Commission from policing the bias, objectivity, accuracy, or balance of AI-generated outputs.

techfreedom.org/ftc-cannot-p...
August 4, 2026 at 1:38 PM
techfreedom.org
The First Amendment bars the government from retaliating against disfavored speech.

TechFreedom filed comments opposing efforts to deny ABC's license renewals, arguing the FCC lacks the legal & constitutional authority to force early renewals or revoke its broadcast licenses.

tinyurl.com/yken9y85
July 30, 2026 at 5:35 PM
techfreedom.org
Today, @techfreedom.org's @berinszoka.bsky.social joined @protectdemocracy.org and a bipartisan coalition of former high-ranking FCC officials in urging FCC Chairman Carr to end the Commission's retaliatory early review of ABC's broadcast licenses.

protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...
July 28, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by TechFreedom
berinszoka.bsky.social
I'm very proud to have helped organize this coalition through @techfreedom.org
protectdemocracy.org Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · Jul 28
NEW: A bipartisan coalition of former FCC officials, represented by Protect Democracy, filed an opposition urging the FCC to terminate its early renewal review of ABC's licenses — a proceeding they call "an assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process." https://protdem.org/3Rjacrj
Graphic with text reading "Former FCC Officials Challenge Chairman Carr." Below, it states, "Bipartisan group calls actions against ABC's broadcast license an attack on free speech." Includes an image of microphones and a camera, with abstract elements and an American flag motif.
July 28, 2026 at 4:26 PM
techfreedom.org
The First Amendment leaves editorial judgments to broadcasters—not regulators.

@techfreedom.org was joined more than 50 First Amendment scholars and free speech organizations in filing reply comments urging the FCC to end its “equal time” crackdown on The View.

techfreedom.org/50-free-spee...
July 9, 2026 at 5:31 PM
techfreedom.org
Witness the peaceful transfer of power!

On a new Tech Policy Podcast, outgoing host @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social hands the reins to @aricohn.com. To mark the occasion, they go on one final mega-rant about the state of social media and AI regulation.

techfreedom.simplecast.com/episodes/438...
438: I Hosted 157 Episodes and All I Got Was This Stupid Digital Censorship | Tech Policy Podcast
Corbin is signing off as host. To mark the occasion, he and new host Ari Cohn go on one final super rant about the state of social-media and AI regulation. Links: Supreme Court to Hear Violent Video...
techfreedom.simplecast.com
June 25, 2026 at 1:58 PM
techfreedom.org
The government shouldn't decide which political interviews are "real news."

Yesterday, @techfreedom.org filed comments urging the FCC to grant ABC's petition, recognize The View as a bona fide news interview program, and stop chilling political speech.

techfreedom.org/fcc-should-g...
June 23, 2026 at 2:34 PM
techfreedom.org
New Tech Policy Podcast!

Judge Glock of Manhattan Institute joins @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social to discuss the past, present, and future of data center construction in the United States.

techfreedom.simplecast.com/episodes/437...
June 4, 2026 at 1:14 PM
techfreedom.org
We are excited to announce the promotion of @andyjungtech.bsky.social to our first AI Policy Counsel!

Andy has played a key role in advancing our work on emerging technology policy, and this promotion reflects both his contributions and the growing importance of AI policy to our mission.
June 2, 2026 at 5:44 PM
techfreedom.org
It’s been waaaay too long since our last space episode! We fix that today, big time.

On a new Tech Policy Podcast, Dr. Mekhi Dhesi of Slingshot Aerospace joins @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social to discuss orbital mechanics, rocket science, black holes, the Fermi paradox, and more.

tinyurl.com/mvm24yzt
May 26, 2026 at 1:11 PM
techfreedom.org
Down the ages, new ways to communicate spark moral panics. With social media and AI, is history repeating itself?

On a new podcast, @corbinkbarthold.bsky.social speaks at a @thefireorg.bsky.social Free Speech Future event with Kmele Foster, @nicoperrino.bsky.social, & @cjferguson1111.bsky.social
May 13, 2026 at 1:15 PM
techfreedom.org
As the federal approach to AI preemption shifts, what should effective AI governance look like?

🗓️Join us on Wednesday, May 13 at 1:00 p.m. ET for a panel featuring Neil Chilson (Abundance Institute), @jrhuddles.bsky.social (@cato.org), and @andyjungtech.bsky.social.

us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: From Executive Orders to Legislation: The Future of Federal AI Preemption. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webina...
The federal government’s approach to AI preemption is undergoing a notable shift, with momentum moving from executive branch actions—such as President Trump’s December executive order—to congressional...
us06web.zoom.us
May 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by TechFreedom
corbinkbarthold.bsky.social
This podcast episode opens with @taylorlorenz.bsky.social saying "Give Corbin a chance."

Evergreen! 😅

open.spotify.com/episode/23ep...
The Dark Side Of AI Safety Laws
Spotify video
open.spotify.com
May 1, 2026 at 3:49 PM