Cantwell Warns of Dangers of AI and Politically Driven Media Consolidation to Independent Journalism, Demands FCC Chair Brendan Carr Appear Before Committee to Answer for His[...]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, warned that the rapid deployment of AI combined with politically-driven consolidation of major media and technology companies poses a serious threat to the first amendment and to freedom of the press at today's hearing on government censorship. Sen. Cantwell called out the failure of Chair Cruz to bring FCC Chair Brendan Carr before the Committee despite Carr's use of regulatory threats to try to silence voices that do not support President Trump's agenda.

"Where is Brendan Carr?" Sen. Cantwell asked. "We might have the right hearing, but I'm not sure we have the right witnesses. We might have the right questions, but I'm not sure we have the right administration we're calling into question. I will take the opportunity to ask the witnesses about AI, about algorithms, about competition on platforms. But as we discuss censorship today, this hearing isn't serious if it ignores the ongoing corporate consolidation green-lighted by the Trump Administration, which is only approving deals that come with a political [quid] pro quo."

Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge agreed, telling the Committee: "I cannot stress too much how consolidation - particularly in the hands of those who have proven themselves loyal to the current Administration - amplifies the ability to control content on an unprecedented scale. Congress must act as individuals and collectively, without regard to party or partisanship, to draw clear lines in the sand. Members must work to restore the independence of agencies and to set clear limits on the power of agencies to meddle in matters protected by the First Amendment."

Sen. Cantwell pointed to several recent transactions by the Trump Administration as proof of political influence on media mergers.

"Just this year, FCC Chairman Carr approved Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount but only after Paramount paid $16 million to settle with President Trump and install a first-term Trump appointee as the ombudsman at CBS," said Sen. Cantwell. "And FTC Chairman Ferguson approved Omnicom's $13 billion acquisition of Interpublic, creating the world's largest media buying agency, while ignoring the serious concerns about market consolidation. So rather than protecting consumers and competition, the FTC imposed conditions to favor certain kinds of content."

Recent press reports indicate that the Trump Administration is playing favorites in ongoing media deals, including Skydance's pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of CNN. Senior administration officials have indicated clear support for Skydance and threatened regulatory hurdles if that preference is not followed.

Sen. Cantwell turned to the second threat facing independent journalism today, the rapid deployment of AI and the decline of the economic model for local journalism.

"A July poll from the Associated Press showed that 60 percent of Americans use AI to find information," stated Sen. Cantwell. "While AI is [a] tremendous power for good, this trend raises concerns of the concentration and monopolization of that information. The amount of control in the hands of just a select few could erode the foundation of free speech. The First Amendment isn't just a line in the Bill of Rights, it is about an operating system for our democracy that protects everybody--comedians, protesters, the free press and obviously people we disagree with."

Americans rely on local news to understand what is going on in their communities. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly three-quarters of Americans trust their local newspapers and broadcasters. But local news faces serious headwinds. Just last week, the Medill Center reported that 50 million Americans have no access to local news, a new high. The advertising-supported model of local newspapers and local broadcast has declined, with an increasing share of revenue going to tech platforms rather than news organizations. And AI models rely on the legwork of journalists without fair compensation going to the newsrooms and reporters who put in the work.

Sen. Cantwell questioned Feld and witnesses from Meta and Google about what needs to be done to preserve local journalism and a diversity of voices in the face of AI and consolidation across the media ecosystem.

"I am concerned about where we are today in the state of media and diversity of voices and so it does make me concerned that we have more competition, not less competition," Sen. Cantwell said to the witnesses. "That is one of the reasons why I want to see Mr. Carr in this hearing room, because we have a big challenge facing us, and the consolidation issues are challenging enough without using coercion in the middle of them. [W]hat can we do in the tide of AI, where AI is now making this even more opaque, how information is being gathered and used? What can we do in the era of AI to make sure that we are instilling more competition, growing more diverse media sources?"

"We agree that competition in AI is a critically important question, particularly given that the natural network effects and the access to information that giant companies have as compared to startups in this situation, create an environment in which natural monopolies or natural oligopolies would emerge," answered Mr. Feld. "In this situation, it is important, we believe, one for the government to support open source, which allows for innovation by multiple parties and combines the abilities of many. We believe that there may be necessary interventions, such as providing access to information that is used to train these models. If it develops that one monopoly in, say, search or on social media, is feeding and growing another monopoly in AI, this is something that the government needs to keep a very careful eye on."

Sen. Cantwell then turned to representatives of Meta and Google regarding the companies' responsibilities, commenting, "I would think that the platforms that were here today would understand that their seed corn is people who actually produce information. How can you continue to have information if you don't have information publishing sources? [W]e've had…127 newspapers close last year alone -- but 1/3 of newspapers [since 2005]. So don't you think that this is eating the seed corn here,…how can you have a perfect stack of information if you're going to have less information?"

Markham Erickson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google answered: "Google is committed to a thriving news ecosystem. For 25 years, users come to our site, and we send them to publishers all over the world, free of charge, and those publishers are able to grow their user base, to have advertising, to monetize those interactions, or to have subscriptions."

"So, at what point do you guys care about the fact that the stack of information needs to be supported?" Sen. Cantwell continued. "If you want to have a perfect stack and have competition, and if we want the U.S. stack to be the best stack in in the world, then you have to have true competition of voices…."

Click HERE for video of Sen. Cantwell's opening statement and HERE for video of her Q&A. The full transcript is HERE.

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