A new survey from @knightfoundation.org and @ssrsresearch.bsky.social reveals a disquieting decline in how free Americans feel to use the freedoms protected by the #FirstAmendment without government interference or punishment. 🧵

Knight Foundation-SSRS Poll: Americans Feel Free Expression is Eroding - Knight Foundation

For more than two decades, Knight Foundation has commissioned research to better understand Americans’ lived experience with the First Amendment and free expression. As the country marks its 250th ann...

knightfoundation.org

On Wednesday, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it will force Google to give publishers real control over whether their content powers AI-generated search summaries. It's a big deal. From @courtneyr.bsky.social @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/uk-regulator...

“The concentration of power with the tech monopolies is a major issue because economic power translates so easily into political power” my interview with the International Bar Assn www.ibanet.org/Defending-de...

Defending democracy: Europe’s endeavours to resist big tech

The EU has introduced regulation to address the threats to democracy and human rights presented by big tech through social media and AI – moves the US has characterised as ‘foreign censorship’.

ibanet.org

Courtney Radsch sends a dispatch from a DC federal hearing in Coalition for Independent Technology Research v. Rubio, the suit challenging Trump's visa restrictions on researchers who study online harms.

Dispatch from the Coalition for Independent Technology Research v. Rubio District Court Hearing

Courtney Radsch attended a hearing on the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration visa restriction policy on researchers who study online harms.

techpolicy.press

Predatory business practices and failed public policy have made artificial intelligence a potentially existential threat to journalism. New technology could offer an important step toward a solution, writes @courtneyr.bsky.social, director @cjl4news.bsky.social @openmarkets.bsky.social.

How to Save Independent Journalism from AI

AI and the Future of Independent Journalism: The promise and peril of privately controlled data marketplaces for media content.

washingtonmonthly.com

Today I’m discussing CJL’s new report, “Same Gatekeepers, New Tollbooths,” on the emerging market for AI content licensing with @capitolforum.bsky.social Join us! www.linkedin.com/posts/the-ca...

This Tuesday, May 5 at 11:00 a.m. ET, The Capitol Forum will host a conference call with Dr. Courtney Radsch, PhD of the Open Markets Institute to discuss the organization’s new report, “Same… | The C...

This Tuesday, May 5 at 11:00 a.m. ET, The Capitol Forum will host a conference call with Dr. Courtney Radsch, PhD of the Open Markets Institute to discuss the organization’s new report, “Same Gatekeep...

linkedin.com

A Paramount-Warner Bros. merger would be horrible for creative content producers and for the broader marketplace of ideas. @courtneyr.bsky.social breaks down exactly why we must oppose it: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Netflix and Paramount deals are both wrong for Warner Bros Discovery – and democracy | Courtney C Radsch

A congressional hearing this week underscored the danger a WBD deal would pose to journalism and the American public

theguardian.com

NBC News@nbcnews.com · 3mo ago

BREAKING: Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders vote to approve the company’s acquisition by Paramount Skydance.

@sulliview.bsky.social spoke with @courtneyr.bsky.social for @theguardian.com piece examining Trump's role in Paramount's move to acquire Warner Bros. -- and CNN. We've already called on state AGs to investigate. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I wish more comedy writers would testify before congress, and will definitely channel this energy next time I have the opportunity! courtneyradsch.substack.com/p/when-the-j...

Best Congressional Testimony Ever: Picture Book Author versus the Joke Police

Congress summoned an Emmy-winning comedy writer and children's book author to explain censorship in what was the most entertaining and incisive hearing I've ever watched.

courtneyradsch.substack.com

SCOOP: Proton Mail provided Swiss authorities with payment data that the FBI then used to determine who was allegedly behind an anonymous account affiliated with the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, according to a court record reviewed by 404 Media.

Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester

A court record reviewed by 404 Media shows privacy-focused email provider Proton Mail handed over payment data related to a Stop Cop City email account to the Swiss government, which handed it to the ...

404media.co

The showdown between Anthropic and Trump's Department of War is a pivotal test of whether democratic norms can restrain the surveillance and combat-AI infrastructure we’ve built. I'm not hopeful. substack.com/home/post/p-....

The Pentagon wants its Panopticon

Trump's demand that AI companies remove safeguards is a test of whether democratic institutions can restrain the surveillance infrastructure they have built

substack.com

Anthropic: We lost a contract because we refuse to build Skynet. OpenAI: We'll do it

Mike Masnick@masnick.com · 5mo ago

My goodness.

In what will surprise no one, there is an AI Boom on K Street: One in Four Lobbyists Now Work on AI. Not surprising given that AI companies now rank among the first trillion dollar companies in the world and are pushing back against concerns about an AI bubble readsludge.com/2026/02/24/a...

AI Boom on K Street: One in Four Lobbyists Now Work on AI

A new Public Citizen report analyzes lobbying disclosures for 2025 and finds that lobbying on AI issues has skyrocketed.

readsludge.com

Censorship and capitulation are once again in the news as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was prevented from airing its interview with US Senate candidate James Talarico. This is about corporate greed and cowardice amid rising authoritarianism and democratic decline substack.com/home/post/p-...

Censorship and capitulation: the latest on Colbert v Carr

Why corporate greed and cowardice, government jawboning and media behemoths blocked the airing of an interview with a Senate candidate from Texas.

substack.com

"Netflix threatens speech through market power, and Paramount Skydance threatens it through demonstrated capitulation. Both are bad." - @courtneyr.bsky.social in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Netflix and Paramount deals are both wrong for Warner Bros Discovery – and democracy | Courtney C Radsch

A congressional hearing this week underscored the danger a WBD deal would pose to journalism and the American public

theguardian.com

“Flock's ambitions go far beyond license-plate surveillance,” EFF’s @cooperq.com told @404Media.co. “Flock's goal isn't to catch stolen cars, their goal is to have total surveillance of everyone all the time." www.404media.co/flock-expos...

Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

Flock left at least 60 of its people-tracking Condor PTZ cameras live streaming and exposed to the open internet.

404media.co

Not old enough to remember personally but he is a legend and an icon of journalism for a reason

Robert Reich@rbreich.bsky.social · 8mo ago

I’m old enough to remember when CBS News would never have surrendered to a demagogic president or any other politician. Remember Edward R. Murrow?

I’m old enough to remember when CBS News would never have surrendered to a demagogic president or any other politician. Remember Edward R. Murrow?

Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:

The US TikTok sale has been signed. The company will be controlled by a joint venture including Oracle, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Adding a UAE company really makes it clear that this was never about national security concerns. www.axios.com/2025/12/18/t...

Scoop: TikTok signs deal for sale of U.S. unit after yearslong saga

The deal would end a yearslong saga to force TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the company's U.S. operation.

axios.com

Our statement from @courtneyr.bsky.social is here: “U.S. senators are finally confronting the serious threat of consolidated media censorship and quid pro quo interference that has unfolded during this administration..." www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...

Vigorous Bipartisan Condemnation of FCC for Media Censorship Erupts at Senate Commerce Hearing  — Open Markets Institute

“It is deeply alarming — and overdue — that U.S. senators are finally confronting the serious threat of consolidated media censorship and quid pro quo interference that has unfolded during this admini...

openmarketsinstitute.org

Yep, that’s me. How do you keep a straight face when the head of an INDEPENDENT REGULATOR can’t answer what he swore when he took his oath of office or clarify that the president is NOT his boss & that YES the FCC is independent. Also couldn’t t keep quiet www.journalismliberty.org/publications...

Vigorous Bipartisan Condemnation of FCC for Media Censorship Erupts at Senate Commerce Hearing — Center for Journalism & Liberty

FCC Chair Carr’s denying independence of the regulatory agency necessitates his removal.

journalismliberty.org

CRUISE SHIP DRUMMER!™@cruiseshipdrummer.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Unclear if this is actually policy or just Trump shooting from the hip. But we agree that that the broadcast ownership cap should NOT be lifted. Broadcast is already highly consolidated. Stay tuned 📺

Reuters@reuters.com · 8mo ago

Tegna shares fall 5% after Trump criticizes lifting local TV ownership cap reut.rs/3LZAiwj

Find our full statement, from @courtneyr.bsky.social, on why this illegal merger must be blocked here: 3/3 www.journalismliberty.org/publications...

After Cutting Kimmel, Nexstar Asks Trump to Greenlight Illegal Merger — Center for Journalism & Liberty

Two months after bending to a White House demand to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its network, Nexstar Media Group is asking the Trump administration to approve an illegal $6.2 billion merger ...

journalismliberty.org

🚨 Brussels, today 🚨Ursula! Stand up for Europe – not for Trump’s tech bros! As the EU unveils its “Digital Omnibus” today, we're rolling out billboards calling on @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu to stop bending to US and Big Tech pressure and enforce our digital laws #StandUpUrsula✊

Did FoloToy seriously think that integrating ChatGPT, a product linked to several suicides and which has so many safety issues that you can't fit them in a single tweet (post?), was a good idea? And OpenAI of course didn't stop it. mashable.com/article/chat...

The ChatGPT-powered teddy bear is officially on ice

Probably for the best.

mashable.com

We had a great discussion with @courtneyr.bsky.social on "Big Tech + Big Brother: Resisting ‘techno-fascism’ and the surveillance state" at the @globalfreemedia.bsky.social World Congress & Media Innovation Festival in Vienna on October 25. Credit © Ronja Koskinen / IPI

Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.

We welcome the release of the crucial OSCE report "Safeguarding Media Freedom in the Age of Big Tech Platforms and AI" and are thrilled it recommends several reforms championed by our Center for Journalism & Liberty. Full statement from center director @courtneyr.bsky.social: