Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge, Testifies at Senate Commerce Commitee Hearing

On October 29, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge Harold Feld testified at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing regarding First Amendment freedoms. "I have been an advocate for First Amendment freedoms––especially the right of the public to hear diverse views and production of local news critical to an informed democracy––for over 25 years," he said. "One of the most challenging areas of government policy is how to balance the important government interest in creating spaces for robust debate, ensuring the flow of necessary information, while simultaneously avoiding the twin dangers of government censorship or forced carriage of government propaganda. At the beginning of the 21st Century, these concerns focused on the traditional gatekeepers of broadcast licensees, and preserving an open internet. More recently, the rise of social media and the concentration of our national discussions on a very few giant platforms have raised even more complicated questions. But the fundamental question remains the same. How can the government maintain the news and civic discourse necessary to sustain democracy without becoming the dictator of what people may say or hear?"