FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called recent attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion “a pattern of censorship and control” during a forceful address at NAB Show 2025, warning that the Trump administration’s actions pose serious threats to press freedom, regulatory independence, and democratic norms. Speaking in a packed room during a live discussion with *Wall Street Journal* reporter Joe Flint, Gomez expressed alarm over what she described as a systematic effort to weaponize government agencies—including the FCC—against media companies, tech platforms, and public institutions whose content or practices don’t align with the administration’s ideology.
Gomez said recent FCC investigations into DEI initiatives represent blatant overreach, warning that “harassment is really the point, not the end goal.” She criticized the use of executive orders to dismantle longstanding DEI programs, labeling them as efforts to reshape corporate culture, stifle dissent, and even “rewrite history,” citing actions impacting Smithsonian programming as a prime example. “It has nothing to do with what we do at the FCC,” she said. “It’s simply control of a private company’s employment practices.”
Gomez expressed deep concern about increasing threats to the First Amendment and independent journalism, pointing to what she sees as politically motivated moves to interfere in editorial decisions and discourage news coverage critical of the administration. “You do not want regulators like me interfering in your journalistic decisions,” she said, opposing ongoing investigations of supposed news bias. She also voiced concern over Chairman Brendan Carr’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” deregulation initiative, saying, “We want to take a scalpel, not a chainsaw” to rules that protect consumers and uphold values like localism, diversity, and competition.
Touching on media ownership rules, Gomez acknowledged the need to modernize regulation but warned against excessive consolidation, which she said could further diminish local journalism, much like the decline already seen in print media. Throughout her remarks, Gomez emphasized that censorship efforts are not isolated actions but part of a wider pattern that includes pressuring tech companies, undermining federal agencies, and chilling open discourse.
Despite the pressure, Gomez pledged to continue speaking out. “I’m not worried about myself, but I will not stop,” she said. “I have to raise alarm bells.” She encouraged the broadcasting community to resist political overreach and avoid capitulation, warning that silence or compliance only emboldens further encroachments. “Every time there’s more capitulation, it just engenders more capitulation.”
In a rare moment of optimism, Gomez noted that bipartisan cooperation is still possible at the FCC, sharing that she’s worked productively with Chairman Carr on select enforcement issues. “We like working on a bipartisan basis. It is actually fulfilling to do so,” she said. Although Commissioner Nathan Simington was scheduled to appear at the NAB event, he canceled following an agency-wide travel suspension. Gomez, however, said she chose to attend at her own expense because the stakes were simply too high. “It was important enough for me to come to meet with broadcasters and to speak,” she said.
Her final message to journalists, regulators, and industry leaders was resolute: defend independence and resist censorship, before it’s too late.