The American constitution forbids any law that limits the freedom of the press. It does not stop a government from using what else it holds: the licences that broadcasters need, the approval that media mergers need, public money, access to the White House and the Pentagon, subpoenas, and the president's own lawsuits. This administration has used all of them. It says it is answering a press that campaigns against it. Editors and press freedom groups say outlets are being taught what coverage costs.
The wider conflict and each side's full account: America's conflict over presidential power.
Where it stands · September 2026
The European Union designated ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox under its content law. ABC did not air a recorded interview by its host Jimmy Kimmel with a Democratic politician after threats from the broadcasting regulator. A judge found that the immigration agency had probably violated a critic's right to free speech by sending him a warning. The Committee to Protect Journalists criticised an Israeli plan for citizenship revocation. US media criticised a ban by Donald Trump as an attack on press freedom. The broadcasting regulator's Brendan Carr dismissed concerns about Trump's taxpayer-paid election ads.
What the dispute is about
The licence. Television and radio stations broadcast under federal licences that require them to serve the public interest. For decades the regulator treated that as a formality. Its present chairman says that distorted news can cost a station its licence, and has opened reviews after jokes and coverage the president disliked.
The owners. The large networks belong to corporations that need the government's consent for mergers and much else. Two of them paid millions to settle lawsuits by the president that many lawyers expected them to win.
Access and secrets. Who may sit in the press room, what reporters at the Pentagon must sign, and whether journalists can be forced to name sources.
