Judge says FTC investigation into Media Matters ‘should alarm all Americans’

A federal judge has banned the initial order by blocking the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation on the Left Advocacy Group Media Affairs.

In 2021, research published by Media Matters showed that advertisements from large companies were antisemitic and other aggressive materials, along with Elon Musk-owned X. X Media Matters suitThe It Sued advertiser and advertiser group It was more than what he claimed was “regulatory illegal boycott”.

After the then Donald Trump took over in January, after Kastur took over in January, the FTCO started investigating whether there were media issues Illegally involved with advertisersThe

On Friday, however, Judge Sparkle El Sukananan was in favor of media matters and blocked the FTC investigation. In His decisionSukananan (Joe Biden’s District Court judge) writes that Media Matters articles presented the “Fifth First Amendment Activities” and FTC’s “broad” investigative claims seemed to be “a revenge law”.

He wrote, “When the government responds against the individual or organization to engage in a constitutionally protected public debate, it should be dangerous to all Americans,” he wrote. “And this alarm will be more loud when the government takes revenge against those employed in newsgrading and reporting.”

Sukananan mentioned that before his appointment as the current FTC chairman, Andrew Ferguson appeared at Steve Banon’s podcast and called on FTC to investigate the online chaos and later he had brought several senior staff to the FTC who had previously commented on media issues.

FTC immediately responds to any TechCrunch email asking if it wants to apply.

Regardless of legal results, X cases have already had a significant impact on target companies, media mats with cutting staff (one of the researchers now The Congress is going on), When the World Federation of Advertisers stopped the brand security program and ReportedThe

Sukananan said that the FTC investigation also had the “purposeful impact”, asking the media issues to “decide to follow some stories about FTC, Chairman Ferguson and Mr. Kasturi.”