Juries in two recent court cases reached verdicts that seem to show plaintiffs can plead around Section 230 and hold platforms liable for harms from their product design. The inevitable appeals will hinge on which design features are protected by Section 230 and which aren’t. 1/2

The $111 billion bid from Paramount/Skydance for WBD would be the third merger attempt in ten years to successfully bolt Warner Bros. to a larger partner. But is the third time really the charm?

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

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:

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.”

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:

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 🧵

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

"....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...

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:

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...

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

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

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.

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...

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...

"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...

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.

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

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

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 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...

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...

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...

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.

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

“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...

In Part 2 of this two-part blog series, Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social breaks down the solutions news publishers are gravitating towards, as well as promising policy solutions to protect the public and business interest alike in this fast-moving space:

President Trump's latest lawsuit against the @nytimes.com is just yet another in a series of filings to threaten freedom of the press. Read more in the latest from Policy Analyst @mwils.bsky.social at the link below: publicknowledge.org/trump-defama...

"Perhaps no technology underpins more the everyday functioning of our increasingly digital world than cloud computing." Read the latest from @nickgarcia.bsky.social and @elisephillips.bsky.social for @techpolicypress.bsky.social on why the cloud should be our next public utility:

This month, the House Judiciary Committee hosted the hearing “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation”, focusing on an alleged threat that laws such as U.K.'s Online Safety Act & EU's Digital Services Act pose to U.S. free speech. But the evidence presented tells a different story.

Is it illegal to not buy ads on X? @publicknowledge.bsky.social Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social and Policy Counsel @elisephillips.bsky.social weigh in with @arstechnica.com: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

"As fans across the world celebrate the [pending] drop of her latest album, now is a good time to pause and reflect on how Taylor’s career has interacted with copyright...there are some lessons here for those interested in the intersection between copyright, creativity, and commerce."

Follow along as @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague @mrose.ink tracks the insights from the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism hearing on AI and copyright

Today (and new time of 12pm): Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing, "Too Big to Prosecute?: Examining the AI Industry’s Mass Ingestion of Copyrighted Works for AI Training." 1/3 www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac...

The Copyright Office finally released its long-awaited third installment on AI and fair use. But while the top-line conclusions were generally on point, the reasoning in their analysis misses the mark. The latest from @mrose.ink: publicknowledge.org/the-fatal-fa...