I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1880 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify that the Federal 
Communications Commission may not take action against a broadcast 
licensee or any other person on the basis of viewpoint, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 5, 2025 
Ms. MATSUI (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, and Ms. MCCLELLAN) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify that 
the Federal Communications Commission may not take 
action against a broadcast licensee or any other person 
on the basis of viewpoint, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadcast Freedom 
and Independence Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Federal Communications Commission 
(in this section referred to as the ‘‘FCC’’) was estab-
lished as an independent agency by the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) for the 
purpose of ‘‘regulating interstate and foreign com-
merce in communication by wire and radio so as to 
make available, so far as possible, to all the people 
of the United States, without discrimination on the 
basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, 
a rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire 
and radio communication service with adequate fa-
cilities at reasonable charges. . .’’. 
(2) Commissioners at the FCC, an independent 
agency, are confirmed by Congress for specified 
terms and the President does not have the power to 
remove them at will. 
(3) The independence of the FCC is paramount 
to the FCC carrying out its mission without political 
pressure or intimidation. 
(4) The FCC’s priorities and agenda must be 
set by the FCC without undue influence from the 
President or any advisors to the President who do 
not work for the FCC. 
(5) As established in section 326 of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 326), nothing 
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in the FCC’s authority ‘‘shall be understood or con-
strued to give the Commission the power of censor-
ship over the radio communications or signals trans-
mitted by any radio station, and no regulation or 
condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Com-
mission which shall interfere with the right of free 
speech by means of radio communication’’. 
(6) Investigations and threats of Commission 
action or inaction must not be used to suppress cer-
tain viewpoints or intimidate broadcast licensees into 
aligning with any political agenda. 
SEC. 3. VIEWPOINT PROTECTION. 
Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 14. VIEWPOINT PROTECTION. 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION ON BASIS 
OF VIEWPOINT.—The Commission may not revoke any li-
cense or other authorization of, or otherwise take action 
against, any person on the basis, in whole or in part, of 
viewpoints broadcast or otherwise disseminated by that 
person or any person affiliated with that person. 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AGAINST CONDITIONS ON VIEW-
POINT IN TRANSACTION REVIEW.—The Commission may 
not place on any approval under subsections (a), (b), and 
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(c) of section 214 or section 310(d) any condition with 
respect to viewpoints broadcast or otherwise disseminated 
by the person seeking that approval, any successor of that 
person, or any person affiliated with that person or suc-
cessor. 
‘‘(c) NO EFFECT ON CERTAIN OTHER AUTHORITY 
OF COMMISSION.—Nothing in this section shall be con-
strued to affect the authority of the Commission to take 
action on the basis of, or to place a condition on an ap-
proval described in subsection (b) with respect to— 
‘‘(1) a violation of— 
‘‘(A) section 1304 of title 18, United 
States Code, or conduct that would constitute a 
violation of that section if content disseminated 
by means other than radio or television broad-
cast were disseminated by means of radio or 
television broadcast; 
‘‘(B) section 1343 of title 18, United 
States Code; or 
‘‘(C) section 1464 of title 18, United 
States Code, or conduct that would constitute a 
violation of that section if content disseminated 
by means other than radio communication were 
disseminated by means of radio communication; 
or 
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‘‘(2) the broadcast or other dissemination of 
content that constitutes incitement under the First 
Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States.’’. 
Æ 
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