When the FCC approved the Paramount-Skydance merger Thursday, one commissioner blasted the decision, calling it an act of “ cowardly capitulation ” on behalf of Paramount and warning that this could lead to a further “erosion of our First Amendment protections.”

The Federal Communications Commission has approved the $8 billion merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media, claiming “significant changes,” are coming to the CBS owner.

Chairman Brendan Carr thinks his agency should strive to ensure that news coverage is fair and balanced—a role precluded by the First Amendment.

Skydance has emphasized that the commitments are voluntary. Previously, Skydance and Paramount had argued against conditions imposed by the FCC to mandate benchmarks for viewpoint neutrality, saying that they would be “squarely foreclosed by the First Amendment and Supreme Court precedent.”

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