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On July 25, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission approved Skydance’s $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global and its subsidiaries, including CBS. The agency allowed the deal to move forward after receiving assurances the new company would provide “fair, unbiased, and fact-based coverage” and would not establish programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The deal had previously come under scrutiny from the Trump administration over his disputes with CBS about its coverage of the 2024 election.

The following statement is from FIRELegal Director Will Creeley.

This has been an unconstitutional shakedown from start to finish. Per the First Amendment, federal law, and longstanding precedent, the FCC has no business dictating the editorial choices of media outlets or conditioning merger approval on the viewpoints a network chooses to air. 

But yesterday, Chairman Carr crowed over his shameful success doing just that. No federal bureaucrat should ever be allowed to play-act as our nation’s editor-in-chief.

The chairman’s hypocrisy is staggering.

Less than a year ago, Brendan Carr, if you could take him at his word, seemed to understand that the First Amendment bars the FCC from operating as "the nation’s speech police." But he’s more than happy to wear that badge now.