Burning the House Down to Roast the Pig: Constitutional Limits of FTC, FCC and DOJ Interference in Media and Speech

Date: May 15 – 16, 2025

Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

President Donald Trump has made it a priority to ensure “fairness” in media—both new and old. He isn’t waiting for Congress to act. The new leadership of the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division are eager to take action. Whether they succeed will turn on a series of complex legal questions about the authority of these agencies and how the First Amendment limits government interference in private media. Please join us for a two-day workshop exploring the constitutional limits to what government can do about “censorship” and “bias.”

May 15 – Can the FTC and DOJ Police Political Bias & Content Moderation?

The leaders of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division believe these agencies can take legal action to ensure that social media companies curate and moderate content without political bias. They also want to sue advertisers for threatening to boycott platforms that won’t moderate content harmful to brands. But how do consumer protection and competition law apply to media companies? What action, if anything, could these agencies take that is consistent with the First Amendment? The FTC is taking comments on these issues until May 21.

CDT Featured Speaker: Kate Ruane, Director, Free Expression Project

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