Media Center

Today, the conservative majority of United States Supreme Court struck down a law that prevents potential corruption from arising when politicians make large personal loans to their own campaigns only to repay them with donations received after Election Day. Candidates will now be able to take out millions of dollars in personal loans for their campaigns that can be repaid after the election by special interest donors who are effectively depositing money into a politicians’ personal bank accounts. Common Cause filed an amicus brief in Federal Election Commission (FEC) v. Ted Cruz for Senate with the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Democracy 21.

Today, Common Cause, along with The NewsGuild-CWA and Public Knowledge filed a Motion for Additional Information and Extension of Time with the Federal Communications Commission. The Motion asks the FCC to require the applicants in Standard General Inc. and Apollo Global Management’s acquisition of Tegna to provide additional information and documents necessary for the agency to determine whether the transaction is in the public interest.  

Today, more than 120 civil rights, democracy, and public interest groups called on the major social media companies to combat and curb election disinformation on the platforms ahead of this year’s midterm elections. In a letter to the CEOs of Meta, Twitter, YouTube, Snap, Instagram, TikTok, and Alphabet, the groups urged the platforms to take a variety of specific actions, including “introducing friction to reduce the spread and amplification of disinformation, consistent enforcement of robust civic integrity policies; and greater transparency into business models that allow disinformation to spread.”  

On April 20, sheriffs’ deputies in Georgia pulled over a bus transporting the women’s lacrosse team from Delaware State University, a historically Black university, and without probable cause brought in drug-sniffing dogs and hand-searched the women’s personal belongings. The officers were white, and almost all of the female athletes and staff Black.

On May 9th, the White House held an event on broadband affordability, highlighting new service plans that numerous internet service providers will offer as part of their participation in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program. The program helps ensure low-income households can afford broadband connectivity. The White House’s latest event on broadband affordability signals the need for Gigi Sohn, President Biden’s nominee to serve as FCC commissioner, to receive a vote in the United States Senate. President Biden nominated Ms. Sohn over five months ago and the vacancy has been open for over a year, keeping the FCC deadlocked in a 2-2 split. A deadlocked FCC is unable to fully address broadband affordability or move forward on a host of other communications reforms vital to our democracy.