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Checks & Balances
No. 12: Media Independence & Regulation

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to protect press independence, prevent government control of media, establish factual integrity standards, limit media monopolies, and safeguard public media funding.

...to the press alone, chequered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression.

- Madison (Report on the Virginia Resolutions)

Guilt only dreads liberty of speech, which drags it out of its lurking holes, and exposes its deformity and horror to day-light.

- Anti-Federalist (Cato XV)

Why This Amendment?

The Founders understood that a free press would have abuses. They protected it anyway, because government control of information was worse. But they left no structural protection against presidents using regulatory power to punish unfavorable coverage, officeholders owning the platforms they regulate, or concentrated ownership eliminating independent voices.
  • Regulated By Government

    The Justice Department announced it would no longer defend the constitutionality of "for-cause removal" provisions protecting independent agency commissioners. When regulators serve at the president's pleasure, they regulate at the president's pleasure.

  • Presidents Threaten the Press

    From John Adams prosecuting newspaper editors under the Sedition Act of 1798 to Nixon targeting the Washington Post's broadcast licenses to modern threats of license revocation against networks that air critical coverage—the pattern repeats. Presidents of both parties have used or threatened regulatory power against media outlets.

  • Media Companies Payoffs

    Networks have paid tens of millions to settle meritless lawsuits because they need regulatory approval for mergers. When the cost of litigation exceeds the cost of settlement—and when settlement removes obstacles to government approval—lawsuits become leverage.

  • Officeholders Can Own Platforms

    Nothing prevents presidents, members of Congress, or their families from owning broadcast networks, communications platforms, or media distribution services while in office. Nothing prevents regulatory decisions that benefit businesses owned by political allies.

  • Local News Destroyed

    When one company controls hundreds of stations, it can require local anchors to read identical scripts nationwide—making corporate messaging look like local editorial judgment.

  • Private Public Broadcasting

    Congress created public broadcasting to be insulated from political interference. Rural stations—sometimes the only news source for isolated communities—face elimination as political punishment.

  • No Accountability For Lies

    Networks can present demonstrably false claims about elections, public health emergencies, and government actions as factual news without consequence. The First Amendment protects opinion and editorial judgment; not falsehoods presented as journalism.

The Full Text • Amendment XII

Media Independence & Regulation

Each section shows the legal text and what it means in plain language. You don't need a law degree to understand what you're voting on.

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Definitions

Legal text

  1. "Communications platform" means any digital service that hosts, curates, algorithmically promotes, or distributes user-generated or third-party content to the public, including social media platforms, video-sharing services, search engines that surface news content, and content recommendation systems. This definition shall be construed broadly to encompass future technologies serving equivalent functions.
  2. "Media organization" means any entity that regularly produces, publishes, broadcasts, or distributes news reporting, analysis, or editorial content to the public through any medium, including broadcast, cable, satellite, print, digital, or any communications platform.
  3. "News reporting" means content presented to the public as factual accounts of events, whether by explicit designation or by reasonable audience interpretation based on the format, context, and manner of presentation. This term does not include content clearly and persistently labeled as opinion, editorial, commentary, or satire.
  4. "Opinion content" means content presenting the viewpoints, interpretations, or editorial judgments of the speaker or author, clearly and persistently identified as such to the audience throughout the duration of its presentation.
  5. "Dominant share" means a degree of ownership or control over media distribution within a single market or nationally that is sufficient to substantially reduce the diversity of independent editorial voices available to the public. Congress shall establish specific numerical thresholds. In the absence of implementing legislation, federal courts shall determine dominance on a case-by-case basis applying this principle.
  6. "Immediate family member" means a spouse, domestic partner, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, or sibling of the officeholder, and any entity in which such persons hold a controlling financial interest.
  7. "Functional operating threshold" means the minimum level of funding necessary to maintain independent editorial operations, national distribution, and local programming across all states and territories.
  8. "Algorithmically promotes" means the use of automated systems, including but not limited to recommendation algorithms, ranking systems, and content curation tools, to increase the visibility, reach, or prominence of specific content to users beyond the users' direct and intentional selection.
  9. "For cause" means misconduct, neglect of duty, incapacity, or criminal conviction. Policy disagreements, political affiliation, or regulatory decisions shall not constitute cause.

Plain Language

  1. A “communications platform” is any digital service that lets people post content and then hosts it, organizes it, promotes it with algorithms, or shares it with the public. This includes social media, video-sharing sites, search engines that show news, and content recommendation systems. The definition also applies to future technologies that work in similar ways.
  2. A “media organization” is any group that regularly creates and shares news, analysis, or editorial content with the public. This includes TV, cable, satellite, newspapers, digital outlets, and content shared on communications platforms.
  3. “News reporting” means content presented as factual information about real events. It can be labeled as news or understood as news based on how it looks and is presented. It does not include content clearly and consistently labeled as opinion, commentary, editorial, or satire.
  4. “Opinion content” means material that shares personal views, interpretations, or editorial judgments. It must be clearly and continuously labeled as opinion so the audience understands it is not factual reporting.
  5. “Dominant share” means owning or controlling so much of the media market that it greatly reduces the number of independent voices available to the public. Congress will set specific numbers to define this. If Congress does not, courts will decide case by case using this principle.
  6. An “immediate family member” includes a spouse or domestic partner, child or stepchild, parent or stepparent, sibling, and any company they control financially.
  7. A “functional operating threshold” is the minimum amount of funding needed for a media organization to run independently, distribute content nationally, and provide local programming across all states and territories.
  8. “Algorithmically promotes” means using automated systems, such as recommendation tools or ranking systems, to increase how often or how prominently certain content is shown to users beyond what users directly choose.
  9. "For cause” means removal based on misconduct, failure to perform duties, incapacity, or a criminal conviction. It does not include disagreements about policy, political beliefs, or regulatory decisions.
     
Independence of Communications Regulators

Legal text

  1. Any federal agency or commission with regulatory authority over speech, press, broadcasting, or communications shall operate independently of presidential direction on matters of regulatory substance, enforcement, and licensing.

  2. Such commissions shall be composed of no fewer than seven members, confirmed by two-thirds vote of the Senate. No more than three commissioners may be affiliated with the same political party. At least one commissioner shall be affiliated with no political party.

  3. Commissioners shall serve staggered terms of ten years. No person may serve more than one term.

  4. No commissioner may be removed except for cause, by two-thirds vote of the Senate.

  5. The commission shall designate its own chair by annual vote among commissioners. No external authority, including the President, shall designate or remove the chair.

  6. The chair shall preside over meetings, represent the commission publicly, and manage administrative operations. The chair shall hold no unilateral authority over agenda-setting, enforcement priorities, staffing decisions, or bureau oversight.

  7. Agenda-setting, enforcement priorities, hiring and oversight of bureau chiefs and senior staff, and all regulatory actions shall be determined by majority vote of the full commission.

  8. Any two commissioners may place any matter on the commission's agenda for a vote. No single commissioner may prevent an item from reaching a vote.

  9. The President shall not direct, coerce, threaten, or retaliate against any commissioner or agency staff for regulatory decisions, enforcement actions, or licensing determinations.

Plain Language

  1. Any federal agency that regulates speech, the press, broadcasting, or communications must make its decisions independently. The President cannot control its regulatory, enforcement, or licensing decisions.
  2. Each such commission must have at least seven members. They must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. No more than three members may belong to the same political party, and at least one member must not belong to any political party.
  3. Commissioners serve staggered ten-year terms, and no one may serve more than one term.
  4. A commissioner can only be removed for serious reasons such as misconduct or incapacity, and removal requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
  5. The commission chooses its own chair each year from among its members. The President or any outside authority cannot choose or remove the chair.
  6. The chair runs meetings, speaks for the commission, and handles administrative tasks. The chair does not have sole power to set the agenda, decide enforcement priorities, hire staff, or control bureaus.
  7. Major decisions such as setting the agenda, deciding enforcement priorities, hiring senior staff, and taking regulatory actions must be approved by a majority of the full commission.
  8. Any two commissioners can put an issue on the agenda for a vote. No single commissioner can block an issue from being voted on.
  9. The President may not pressure, threaten, punish, or interfere with commissioners or agency staff because of their regulatory or enforcement decisions.
Prohibition on Government Interest in Media and Communications

Legal text

  1. No person holding the office of President, Vice President, or member of Congress, nor any immediate family member thereof, shall hold any direct or indirect financial interest in any entity that owns, operates, or controls a broadcast network, communications platform, news organization, media organization, or media distribution service.
  2. Any such interest held at the time of taking office shall be divested within one hundred eighty days.
  3. No sitting federal officeholder shall direct, broker, facilitate, or benefit from the acquisition of any communications platform by any person or entity with whom the officeholder has a financial, familial, or business relationship.
  4. Violations of this section shall constitute grounds for impeachment and shall be subject to criminal prosecution upon leaving office.

Plain Language

  1. The President, Vice President, and members of Congress, as well as their immediate family members, cannot own or have any financial stake, directly or indirectly, in any company that owns or runs a broadcast network, communications platform, news outlet, media organization, or media distribution service.
  2. If any of them own such an interest when they take office, they must sell or give it up within one hundred eighty days.
  3. No sitting federal officeholder may help arrange, support, or benefit from the purchase of a communications platform by anyone with whom they have a financial, family, or business relationship.
  4. Breaking these rules is grounds for impeachment and may lead to criminal prosecution after the person leaves office.
Prohibition on Regulatory Retaliation Against Protected Speech and Factual Integrity Standards

Legal text

  1. No federal agency shall condition, revoke, deny, delay, or threaten to revoke any license, permit, funding, or regulatory approval based on the political content of speech, editorial decisions, or viewpoint expressed by the licensee or applicant.
  2. No federal officer or employee shall publicly or privately threaten regulatory action against any person or entity for the purpose of chilling, deterring, or punishing the exercise of speech or press freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
  3. Any person or entity subject to such action shall have standing to seek immediate injunctive relief in federal court. The burden of proof shall rest with the government to demonstrate that the regulatory action was not retaliatory.
  4. No entity presenting news reporting to the public shall present statements of fact known to be false, or made with reckless disregard for their truth, regarding the conduct of elections, public health emergencies, or the official actions of government. Such presentation as news reporting shall constitute a violation of this section.
  5. Any citizen shall have standing to bring a civil action in federal court to enforce this subsection. The court shall adjudicate all claims. No federal commission, elected official, or political appointee shall have authority to initiate, direct, or influence enforcement of this subsection.
  6. This section shall not apply to opinion content as defined in Section 1 of this article.

Plain Language

  1. A federal agency cannot deny, delay, revoke, or threaten a license, permit, funding, or approval because it disagrees with the political views or editorial choices of the person or organization involved.
  2. No federal official or employee may threaten regulatory action to scare, silence, or punish someone for using their free speech or press rights.
  3. Anyone targeted in this way can go to federal court right away to ask a judge to stop the action. The government must prove that what it did was not retaliation.
  4. No organization that presents news to the public may report statements as facts if it knows they are false, or if it speaks with reckless disregard for whether they are true, when the topic involves elections, public health emergencies, or official government actions. Presenting such false statements as news is a violation of this rule.
  5. Any citizen may file a lawsuit in federal court to enforce this rule. The court will decide the case. No federal commission, elected official, or political appointee may start, control, or influence enforcement of this rule.
  6. These rules do not apply to clearly labeled opinion content as defined earlier in this article.
Media Ownership and Information Diversity

Legal text

  1. No single entity, nor entities under common ownership or control, shall hold a dominant share of broadcast, print, or digital news distribution in any single media market or nationally.
  2. Congress shall establish and maintain specific ownership thresholds and concentration limits. The absence of implementing legislation shall not diminish the force of this section; federal courts shall have authority to enforce the principle directly.
  3. No entity holding a federal broadcast license shall impose uniform editorial directives, scripts, or mandatory content segments across independently licensed stations or markets.
  4. Congress shall not weaken or repeal ownership limits except by two-thirds vote of both houses.

Plain Language

  1. No one company, or group of companies under the same control, may own so much of the news in one area or across the country that it greatly reduces independent voices.
  2. Congress must set clear limits on how much media ownership one company can have. If Congress fails to pass those rules, courts can still enforce this section directly.
  3. A company that holds a federal broadcast license cannot force all of its local stations to use the same scripts, required segments, or editorial instructions.
  4. Congress cannot weaken or remove these ownership limits unless two-thirds of both the House and Senate vote to do so.
Public Information Infrastructure

Legal text

  1. Congress shall fund and maintain an independent, nonpartisan public media system accessible to all persons within the United States.
  2. Funding for public media shall not be conditioned on editorial content, political viewpoint, or the approval of any elected official.
  3. Public media funding may be adjusted through the regular appropriations process but shall not be eliminated or reduced below the functional operating threshold as retaliation for editorial independence.
  4. Editorial and programming decisions of publicly funded media shall be made independently of Congress, the President, and any federal agency.

Plain Language

  1. Congress must provide funding for an independent and nonpartisan public media system that everyone in the United States can access.
  2. That funding cannot depend on what the media says, what political views it shares, or whether elected officials approve of its content.
  3. Congress may change the funding through the normal budget process, but it cannot cut or eliminate funding below the level needed for the system to function as retaliation for its independent reporting.
  4. Decisions about what to report and what programs to create must be made independently, without control from Congress, the President, or any federal agency.
Consumer Protection in Media Markets

Legal text

  1. Congress shall enact and maintain protections against anticompetitive practices in media distribution, including but not limited to exclusive content licensing designed to compel subscription bundling, artificial fragmentation of content across affiliated platforms, and pricing structures that exploit consolidated market power.
  2. The anticompetitive harm analysis applied to media mergers and acquisitions shall include harm to information diversity, editorial independence, and democratic participation — not solely economic harm measured by consumer price.

Plain Language

  1. Congress must create and keep rules that stop unfair competition in media distribution. This includes practices like forcing people to buy bundles to get certain content, spreading related content across different company platforms on purpose, or setting prices that take advantage of too much market power.
  2. When reviewing media mergers or acquisitions, the government must consider not only higher prices for consumers but also harm to diversity of information, editorial independence, and democratic participation.
Enforcement

Legal text

  1. Any person, entity, or State shall have standing to challenge violations of this article in federal court.
  2. Federal courts shall have authority to grant injunctive relief, impose civil penalties, and order divestiture for violations of Sections 3 and 5.
  3. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation consistent with its provisions.
  4. No provision of this article shall be construed to permit government censorship of any speech or press.

Plain Language

  1. Any person, organization, or state may go to federal court to challenge a violation of this article.
  2. Federal courts may issue orders to stop violations, impose fines, and require companies to sell off assets if they violate Sections 3 or 5.
  3. Congress may pass laws to help carry out and enforce this article, as long as those laws follow its rules.
  4. Nothing in this article allows the government to censor speech or the press.
Effective Date and Implementation

Legal text

  1. This article shall take effect one year after the date of ratification.
  2. Congress shall provide for the funding necessary to implement this article through existing appropriations, budget reallocations, or reductions in other expenditures, and may not fund its implementation through fees, surcharges, or new taxes imposed on the general public. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit Congress from adjusting tax policy applicable to higher‑income individuals or large corporations to meet these obligations.
  3. Within one hundred eighty days of ratification, the President shall nominate and the Senate shall confirm commissioners to reconstitute any existing commission subject to Section 2 of this article under the requirements herein. Incumbent commissioners not reconfirmed under the new requirements shall complete their existing terms but may not exercise unilateral authority inconsistent with this article.
  4. Within one year of ratification, Congress shall enact implementing legislation for Sections 5 and 7 of this article, including specific ownership thresholds, concentration limits, and consumer protection standards.
  5. If Congress fails to enact implementing legislation within the period specified in subsection (c), the independent commission constituted under Section 2 shall promulgate interim regulations consistent with the principles of this article, which shall remain in force until superseded by legislation.
  6. Any person holding a financial interest prohibited by Section 3 at the time of ratification shall divest such interest within one hundred eighty days or resign from office.
  7. All existing federal regulations, licenses, and enforcement actions inconsistent with this article shall be brought into compliance within two years of ratification.
  8. This article shall be inoperative unless ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within one year from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

Plain Language

  1. This amendment will start one year after it is approved.
  2. Congress has to pay for this amendment by using money it already has, by moving money around in the budget, or by cutting other spending. It cannot pay for this by charging new fees or creating new taxes on regular people. But Congress is still allowed to change tax rules for people with higher incomes or big corporations if it needs to cover the cost.
  3. Within one hundred eighty days, the President must nominate new commissioners and the Senate must confirm them under the new rules in this article. Current commissioners who are not reconfirmed may finish their current terms, but they cannot use any special powers that go against this article.
  4. Within one year, Congress must pass laws to carry out Sections 5 and 7, including setting clear ownership limits and consumer protection rules.
  5. If Congress does not pass those laws on time, the independent commission created under Section 2 must issue temporary rules that follow this article. Those rules will stay in effect until Congress replaces them with legislation.
  6. Anyone in office who holds a financial interest banned by Section 3 when this amendment is approved must sell it within one hundred eighty days or leave office.
  7. All existing federal rules, licenses, and enforcement actions that conflict with this article must be updated to comply within two years after approval.
  8. It only becomes part of the Constitution if enough states approve it. Three-fourths of the states must vote yes. If that does not happen within one year after Congress sends it to the states, then the amendment fails and does not take effect at all.
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