The U.S. FCC is investigating CBS for potentially violating its seldom-enforced "news distortion" policy. This move, led by the newly appointed commission chair Brendan Carr, could signify a significant shift from the agency's previous practices, according to communications lawyers and FCC experts.
In an uncommon action, the FCC has reopened a complaint claiming that CBS improperly edited a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, altering one of her responses. Additionally, the commission has taken the unusual step of inviting public comments on the proceedings, which is not a typical practice.
The complaint, filed by the conservative Center for American Rights, was initially dismissed in January by the outgoing chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Biden appointee, who argued that the FCC should not serve as "speech police." However, the case was revived shortly after Carr assumed leadership.
Reuters reports research by Chad Raphael, a communications professor at Santa Clara University, reveals that in the rare instances when the FCC has penalized broadcasters for news distortion, the violations were egregious, such as a disc jockey's staged kidnapping, illegal campaign contributions, and a rigged truck explosion. Raphael noted via email that the FCC deliberately designed these policies to make it highly unlikely for a broadcaster to be found in violation, out of respect for their free speech rights. His analysis of 120 news distortion decisions from 1969 to 1999 showed that the FCC ruled against broadcasters in only eight cases, with three stations losing their licenses due to multiple violations, including news distortion.
Some experts doubt that the allegations against CBS will lead to severe penalties. Robert Corn-Revere, who transitioned from a 20-year partnership at Davis Wright Tremaine to chief counsel at the Foundation for Equal Rights and Expression (FIRE) in 2023, stated that no FCC case in history has classified editing as news distortion.
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