WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green), Vice-Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee\u2019s Communications and Technology Subcommittee, today issued the following statement after learning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has cancelled its \u201cCritical Information Needs\u201d study, which would have placed federal officials in the newsroom, so the FCC could monitor the news process and methods by which stories are selected.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased that the FCC has rightfully terminated its plans to conduct a \u2018Critical Information Needs\u2019 study that would have improperly investigated the editorial decisions of the media,\u201d said Congressman Latta. \u201cThe Constitution is the cornerstone of our great democracy, and the preservation of our First Amendment is paramount to the future of this country. As such, the federal government must be a leader in protecting our constitutional rights and freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congressman Latta called on the FCC to cancel this media study earlier this week, stating that it appeared to violate First Amendment rights. He first raised concerns about the study in December, when he joined the Republican members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee on a letter to the FCC, which expressed dismay at the study, urged the Commission to suspend its plans immediately, and requested that it seek appropriate and lawful ways to meet its responsibilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green), Vice-Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee\u2019s Communications and Technology Subcommittee, today<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[2128,267,225],"class_list":["post-5966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government-legal","tag-fcc","tag-latta","tag-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t