Chairman Pai's Response to Rep. Pallone and Rep. Doyle Regarding a Broadcast Station's Right to Air Legally Protected Speech

On April 2, House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to reassure broadcasters that the FCC will not revoke licenses for airing legally protected speech. You may recall that on March 25, President Trump’s campaign sent letters to certain broadcasters regarding the airing of an advertisement critical of the President‘s response to the coronavirus pandemic. In the letter to broadcasters, the Trump campaign wrote that continuing to air the advertisement “could put [the] station’s license in jeopardy.” In an April 7 response, Chairman Pai said, "broadcast stations have broad discretion to decide what programming to air on their stations. Absent very narrow circumstances, the government cannot and should not investigate stations or revoke licenses based on programming the station airs."

Chairman Pai went on to encourage the chairmen to "speak out publicly in favor of the First Amendment - and thus in opposition to [Free Press'] misguided petition" asking the FCC "n take action to curtail the freedom of the press and investigate, or at least guide, the editorial judgments of broadcast stations."