In one of her final acts as head of the FCC, chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel ordered the agency to reject four complaints and petitions against local TV stations — which she says represent politically motivated efforts “to curtail freedom of the press and undermine the First Amendment.

The departing chairwoman of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, warned of efforts to tie the broadcast station license renewals to news content, as the agency dismissed a series of complaints brought from the left and the right.

The outgoing Democratic chair of the Federal Communications Commission is taking bold action on the way out the door, rejecting what she described as four efforts to weaponize the government’s TV licensing authority for political purposes.

Chair Jessica Rosenworcel is dismissing four high profile petitions before the agency before she vacates the position, saying such action is necessary to

Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has dismissed four complaints against local TV stations that "seek to weaponize" the agency and are "at odds" with the First Amendment.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Jessica Rosenworcel used her final weeks in office to “take a stand on behalf of the First Amendment” by dismissing four high-profile petitions she said attempted to “weaponize” the agency’s authority for political purposes.

Citing various past presidents who clashed with the press, Rosenworcel noted that “More recently this threat to the First Amendment has taken on new forms, as the incoming President has called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke licenses for broadcast television stations because he disagrees with their content and coverage.