WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the 100+ days since Brendan Carr has served as Chairman of the FCC, Anna M. Gómez has emerged as the vociferous opposition reflecting the views of Democrats and those who believe the Commission has gone too far with respect to its investigations into content airing on broadcast radio and TV stations across the U.S. Reshaping content moderation has also emerged as an issue of concern.
On Thursday and again on Friday, Gómez used consecutive speaking appearances to double down on her belief that the agency where she will soon serve as the lone Democrat has gone way too far.
With Competitive Enterprise Institute the host venue, Tech Freedom conducted a two-day workshop that concluded Friday that examined the constitutional limits on what the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice and the FCC can and cannot do about “censorship” and “bias.”
Friday morning saw the FCC get the spotlight, with Gómez using the opportunity to again speak, in Tech Freedom President Berin Szóka’s words “very forcefully,” about these issues. A longtime expert in the field who served as a communications attorney before joining the Commission, Gómez opened her remarks by saying, “Our current political moment presents challenges unlike anything I thought I would face as an FCC Commissioner.”
“Our current political moment presents challenges unlike anything I thought I would face as an FCC Commissioner.” — Anna M. Gómez
She continued, “This administration has been on a campaign to censor and control since … well … before Day One. Since Day One, the FCC has been implementing the will of the administration, undermining the First Amendment at every turn.”
In fact, Gómez said, battling the administration’s “campaign of censorship and control” is the theme of the “First Amendment Tour” she announced in April. Discussing why she’s embarking on this initiative, taking her fight across the U.S., Gómez explained, “The greatest threat to that freedom is coming from our own government. Silencing dissenting voices is not a show of strength — it is a sign of weakness. It comes from a place of fear.”
Saying that those who know her are aware she’s not an alarmist, Gómez singled out how the editorial decisions of news networks have been targeted by the Carr Commission, with the White House signaling its desire to have the investigations conducted on the grounds of “distortion” and for acting in the public interest, given the use of public airwaves to deliver broadcasts of network news to millions of viewers.
“These are dangerous and unprecedented actions by an independent government regulator,” Gómez said. “Groups across the ideological spectrum agree with this assessment.” That has aligned Gómez with groups of which she never imagined she’s been in agreeance with on issues such as the First Amendment. “We all share a belief that the First Amendment is fundamental to democracy and worth fighting for, even when and especially when it is politically inconvenient.”
Threatening a free and independent press is a direct result of the Carr Commission’s actions, Gómez continued, while the actions “exert undue pressure that compromises the autonomy of private enterprises.” More broadly, actions across the federal government have demonstrated a disturbing pattern of silencing dissenting voices, she added.
Later in her prepared remarks, Gómez reiterated how the FCC’s licensing authority for broadcasting “is being weaponized to chill speech and to punish the press.” This, she added, is turning the FCC into “an instrument of political censorship.” The consequences could be a threat to the public, given the vital information provided by broadcast media, Gómez added.
Attacking digital media platforms and discussion of “Section 230” of the Communications Decency Act was also shared by Gómez, with content moderation defined as protected speech by the Supreme Court. “This is not about reining in ‘Big Tech’ … this is about censorship and control,” Gómez said, concluding that the independence of independent agencies must be protected. “The FCC is supposed to make decisions based on facts, law and technical expertise — not politics.”
Gómez’s appearance Friday at the Tech Freedom event came just 24 hours after she offered remarks at the 2025 Media Institute Communications Forum. At that event, she said, “Last year at this luncheon I made what I thought was an obvious statement: ‘Our country needs a press free from interference from regulators like me.’ Yet here we are.”
Could Gómez be removed from her seat, given her outspoken opposition to the Trump Administration and the Carr Commission’s efforts in support of the executive branch of the U.S. government? At the Tech Freedom symposium, she said that if that were to happen, “I refuse to stay quiet as the government chips away at fundamental rights by weaponizing our regulatory authority. This is how I’m using my voice. I encourage you to use yours too. If I am removed from my seat on the Commission let it be said plainly — It wasn’t because I failed to do my job. It’s because I insisted on doing it.”
