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Center for Media & Digital Governance

@cmdgtech.bsky.social
602 followers 232 following 256 posts

Investigating concentrated power over digital infrastructure & AI in order to promote the free flow of information (@knightfdn.bsky.social support w/in @openmarkets.bsky.social). Learn more: cmdg.tech

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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
People get it instinctively. Journalists, writers, & creators must be compensated for their work, otherwise, it'll all just be AI slop. @politico.com poll: www.politico.com/f/?id=000001...
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Karina Montoya @pressgirlk.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
#ParamountWBD From @openmarkets.bsky.social: "We should remember how outgoing governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation to create an AI kill switch. "We applaud the holdouts, led by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison [..] as well as the Writers Guild of America." www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.org
Open Markets Institute Condemns State AGs’ Paramount-Warner Brothers Merger Settlement — Open Markets Institute
Barry Lynn condemned the settlement by a coalition of attorneys general that sued to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery.
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Open Markets Institute @openmarkets.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“By settling with Paramount, the states’ attorneys general reinforce the dangerous message that there are few real checks left on the people who aim to control every aspect of American life and culture." Statement from Barry Lynn: www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.org
Open Markets Institute Condemns State AGs’ Paramount-Warner Brothers Merger Settlement — Open Markets Institute
Barry Lynn condemned the settlement by a coalition of attorneys general that sued to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Finally, not every threat has to succeed in court to succeed politically. If a watchdog decides not to publish or a media company thinks twice about angering the government while it has a merger pending, the pressure has already had an effect.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Media consolidation makes controlling it even easier. A government trying to influence what Americans see & hear has a lot more leverage when a small number of corporations & their owners control much of the media.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
CMDG warned at the time against using government power to “extort favors from desperate corporations.” (Corporations desperate because regulators have allowed tech to swallow up their ad revenue for years.)
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The administration has also used media mergers as leverage. While Paramount needed FCC approval for its sale to Skydance, the company agreed to end CBS diversity policies & appoint a monitor for news bias.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
@nytimes.com reports that ABC says fear of government retaliation has changed its programming. The network carried a Trump speech it otherwise would not have aired & avoided certain bookings and video clips on The View. That is exactly the danger.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
When Carr threatened regulatory actions against ABC/Disney over Kimmel, @openmarkets.bsky.social ED Barry Lynn warned that the threat was "meant for every news and entertainment company in the nation.” He was right.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
CMDG has been raising alarms about the FCC in particular since early in the administration. In March 2025, we & 20 civil liberties groups warned FCC Chair Carr against using the agency’s authority to intimidate media organizations. cmdg.tech/publications...
cmdg.tech
CJL Joins Nearly 20 Groups Urging FCC Chairman Carr To Defend the Free Press — Center for Media & Digital Governance
The Center for Journalism and Liberty joined 17 other public interest, trade associations, and civil liberties groups in a letter urging Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Car...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
FBI subpoenas on reporters. The Pentagon cutting journalists’ access. Public media losing federal funding. The White House taking control of the press pool. FCC & FTC "investigations" into media companies & watchdog groups.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This @nytimes.com piece is worth reading. It documents the depth & effectiveness of the Trump admin's attacks on journalists, broadcasters, media companies & others for speech the president dislikes. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/u...
nytimes.com
How Trump Is Wielding Power to Stifle Speech
President Trump has harnessed agencies across the government to curtail press freedoms, a sweeping campaign that free speech advocates say will have lasting effects.
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Open Markets Institute @openmarkets.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
AI policy is “in the ether right now,” says @rodonnell.bsky.social with @dataforprogress.org. “It’s such a clear winner and it’s such a vacuum the Democrats need to fill – this AI fight is *the* economic populism fight.” More 👇
libertyandpower.substack.com
‘Smart Republicans Are Terrified’: Will Democrats Finally Seize the Big Tech Backlash?
Democratic strategists say the Big Tech backlash is tailor-made for Democrats seeking to reclaim the populist mantle – but party leaders seem remarkably reluctant to take up the fight.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
On her Information & Power substack, @courtneyr.bsky.social examines what’s at stake: courtneyradsch.substack.com/p/the-nation...
courtneyradsch.substack.com
The National Security Case Against Rule of Law: Because Nothing Says “Democracy” Like Free Labor for OpenAI
Trump’s DOJ turns copyright enforcement into a supposed threat to national security in yet another attack on journalism. It should alarm anyone who cares about press freedom and rule of law
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The DOJ says making AI companies pay for the journalism they use could threaten national security by slowing U.S. AI development. That’s a dangerous argument—one that could further weaken the independent journalism AI itself depends on.
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DreamingAgainstTheMachine @dreamingagainstthemachine.com · 02/09/2026
The AI bubble could produce the worst economic disaster we’ve ever seen. @matthewus.bsky.social with @openmarkets.bsky.social is our guest this week. Listen now. #ai #datmpodcast #future #science #aibubble #stockmarket #crash @multitudeshows.com @adambecker.bsky.social
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Another huge disappointment today from US courts. We covered this trial extensively and agree with our @openmarkets.bsky.social colleagues' conclusion. Find our full set of reports on US v Google here: cmdg.tech/google-adtec...
cmdg.tech
Google Ad Tech Monopoly — Center for Media & Digital Governance
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
What does this mean? The companies will have 4 months to get in compliance with additional DSA requirements & protections, especially concerning illegal content & their impact on minors. A positive step for DSA enforcement.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Yesterday, the European Commission designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). And Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/comm...
digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu
Commission designates ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox under Digital Services Act
Today, the Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE), as well as Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
11 US states have opposed the Paramount-Warner Bros merger. These actions are grounded in a long history of states challenging big mergers, many of them successfully. Learn more from @pressgirlk.bsky.social: substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
The Paramount-WBD merger: What is the California antitrust lawsuit really about?
Karina Montoya explains how California and 11 other states are challenging the biggest merger in Hollywood’s history, and why Paramount’s CEO says it’s meritless and politically motivated. His claims ...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Read more in @courtneyr.bsky.social's new piece for @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/courts-find-...
techpolicy.press
Courts Find Platforms Addictive and Dangerous by Design
What comes next has to be structural, not just reactive, writes Courtney C. Radsch.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
This is the correct reaction to the mounting evidence that major tech companies knew their products could cause serious harm, particularly to children, yet continued to optimize for engagement & profit.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Last week's ruling against Meta in NM reveals how the courts are no longer blindly treating platforms as neutral conduits for speech, but as products whose design choices can carry consequences & liability. Emphasis on *design choices.*
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Read more about the promise and peril of privately controlled data marketplaces for media content. @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social: washingtonmonthly.com/2026/05/07/a...
washingtonmonthly.com
AI and the Future of Independent Journalism
AI and the Future of Independent Journalism. The promise and peril of privately controlled data marketplaces for media content.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
ICYMI: @courtneyr.bsky.social & @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social Institute brief on “AI and the Future of Independent Journalism.” • Without rules, AI data markets could repeat the failures of ad tech • We need antitrust, transparency, interoperability, and fair compensation to get this right
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
“If big TV media wants to compete more fairly with Big Tech, the answer is the break-up of such tech platforms, not to lift ownership limits that will reduce choice, pluralism, & diversity in the media that millions of Americans watch every day.” - @courtneyr.bsky.social cmdg.tech/publications...
cmdg.tech
CMDG Condemns FCC Decision to Eliminate Checks on Media Consolidation — Center for Media & Digital Governance
“This decision effectively places FCC Chair Brendan Carr in open defiance of Congress, and it gives us yet again another reason to call for removing him from his post,” said CMDG director, Dr. Courtne...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Incredibly apt headline, @theverge.com. "The fact that the FCC is led by an official who so bluntly downplays the perverse harms of consolidation in media markets is a travesty for a media regulator that once set the world standard for independence." - @courtneyr.bsky.social
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Despite a U.S. court declaring Google exercises a monopoly over search, the proposed fixes fall far, far short of the structural change needed. Our @openmarkets.bsky.social colleagues filed a brief opposing one of such remedies this week: www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.org
Open Markets Urges Appeals Court to Restore Competition in Search as Google Extends Its Gatekeeper Power into AI — Open Markets Institute
Open Markets filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to prohibit Google from continuing to pay billions of dollars each year to preserve its monopoly over internet...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
💡Removing media ownership caps won't solve journalism's crisis. The answer isn't bigger media conglomerates. It's more competition and more independent voices. www.cpr.org/2026/08/05/f...
cpr.org
FCC expected to get rid of ownership caps for local TV
The FCC chair pushing the move says it will help local news, but others disagree. Vote will determine the future of television news across the country.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Governments have a responsibility to ensure AI systems are safe, accountable, and transparent before they're deployed. The EU AI Act taking effect is an important step. Now comes the key part: rigorous enforcement. www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/e...
cnbc.com
Anthropic, OpenAI among firms facing new scrutiny under EU AI Act enforcement powers
The European Commission can demand to inspect AI models, restrict market access and fine providers up to 15 million euros or 3% of turnover.
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Open Markets Institute @openmarkets.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
"Google's durable dominance wasn't inevitable; it was purchased. If the court allows those payments to continue, the remedy will leave the monopoly largely intact instead of restoring genuine competition." www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.org
Open Markets Urges Appeals Court to Restore Competition in Search as Google Extends Its Gatekeeper Power into AI — Open Markets Institute
Open Markets filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to prohibit Google from continuing to pay billions of dollars each year to preserve its monopoly over internet...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Important new brief from our @openmarkets.bsky.social Legal colleagues:
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
In the @bostonglobe.com, @openmarkets.bsky.social fellow Matt Scherer & Maya Jenkins warn that mounting AI debt & speculative investment pose risks comparable to past financial bubbles. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/30/o...
bostonglobe.com
The AI bubble could burst — and take the economy with it - The Boston Globe
Washington is loosening financial safeguards just as risks tied to artificial intelligence are mounting.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Resharing an excellent interview from @techpolicypress.bsky.social on how Brazilian policymakers are approaching digital checks and balances www.techpolicy.press/examining-br...
techpolicy.press
Examining Brazil’s ‘Ecosystem Approach’ to Digital Antitrust
Tech Policy Press fellows Laís Martins and Megan Kirkwood interviewed CADE Commissioner Victor Oliveira Fernandes about competition issues.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
From the US to Europe to Brazil, policymakers are recognizing that concentrated private power, especially over information, carries negative consequences for democracies. This isn't a passing debate. It's one of the defining questions of the 21st century.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
State AI laws promoting transparency, civil rights, & accountability don't make #AI less "accurate." They make AI companies more accountable. Our latest #FTC filing explains why the agency should withdraw its proposed AI policy statement. cmdg.tech/publications...
cmdg.tech
FTC Should Protect Consumers. Not Shield AI Companies from State Oversight, CMDG Says — Center for Media & Digital Governance
The Center for Media and Digital Governance (CMDG) at the Open Markets Institute urged the Federal Trade Commission to withdraw its proposed policy statement on AI accuracy , warning that the agenc...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Speaking out against censorship, especially when you have a platform, is essential: variety.com/2026/tv/news...
variety.com
FCC Slammed by Former Agency Officials Over Review of ABC’s Licenses: ‘An Assault on Free Speech Disguised as Regulatory Process’
The FCC and its current chairman, Brendan Carr, were blasted by former heads of the agency and other officials as pursuing a campaign to "censor Disney's and ABC's speech" with its highly unusual earl...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Spotify has stopped paying artists whose songs earn less than 1,000 plays per year. Instead, they pool earnings from the artists who do not hit the minimum (which add up to **$40 million** a year) and distribute them to artists who do.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
12 states have succeeded in pausing the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger. In Liberty & Power, Ben Winsor examines how the Ellisons' effort to build a media empire has triggered the biggest antitrust confrontation of the Trump era: open.substack.com/pub/libertya...
open.substack.com
Twelve States Take On Hollywood's Biggest Merger – and the Oligarchs Behind It
The Ellisons' effort to build a media empire has triggered the biggest antitrust confrontation of the Trump era – pitting 12 states against one of the country’s richest families and its allies.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
"Instead of allowing Google to waste even more time through bad-faith delays, the Commission should be crystal clear with Google on what is needed to ensure effective compliance." More from our @openmarkets.bsky.social Europe colleagues here: www.openmarketsinstitute.eu/publications...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
"The Commission had every legal tool it needed to protect media pluralism and chose not to use them. This merger hands even more control over Europe's entertainment and news to a single American conglomerate.” - @courtneyr.bsky.social www.openmarketsinstitute.eu/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.eu
Clearance of Paramount-Warner Bros Merger Is a Failure to Protect Europe's Creative Industries — OMI Europe
The Commission's approval comes despite months of warnings from civil society, journalists, and the film and TV industries that the deal would concentrate an unprecedented share of production, distrib...
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
If today's AI business model follows the path of surveillance capitalism, targeted advertising could evolve into something even more invasive: the commercialization of our thoughts. New from CMDG Director @courtneyr.bsky.social @projectsyndicate.bsky.social www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/a...
project-syndicate.org
AI Will Supercharge Surveillance Capitalism
Courtney C. Radsch warns that whereas social media inferred your inner life from behavior, AI receives it in your own words.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
AI companies have used a number of financial tricks to create a misleading and dangerously leveraged picture of the industry’s finances. In Persuasion, Damon Silvers & our fellow Matt Scherer explain: www.persuasion.community/p/an-ai-cras...
persuasion.community
An AI Crash Is a Real Possibility
The industry is badly overleveraged and that's unlikely to change.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
"We welcome the court's fair assessment of the states' evidence, which conclusively showed there is a risk the deal would lessen and hurt competition in the creative industries." - @pressgirlk.bsky.social
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FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez @agomezfcc.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
The FCC just announced it will move forward with its unlawful effort to hand control of the public airwaves to billionaire buddies of this administration. This will destroy local newsrooms, silence community reporting, and drive-up costs for American families.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
We can't overstate what a terrible idea this is: cmdg.tech/publications...
cmdg.tech
Press Freedom Groups Urge FCC Not to Abandon Checks on Corporate Media Consolidation — Center for Media & Digital Governance
The Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute joined with 15 leading press freedom groups, civil liberties organizations and labor unions to urge the Federal Communications Commi...
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AG Rob Bonta @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov · 13/07/2026
I'm leading 12 states in challenging the proposed merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount and asking the court to block the deal. CA's film and entertainment industry touches the lives of Americans daily. We’re going to court to fight for a free and fair market and protect this iconic industry.
Proposed $110 billion Paramount and Warner Bros. merger would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and TV audiences. 

We're going to court to stop it.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
When dominant tech platforms dictate the terms for journalism, they gain extraordinary power over the information citizens depend on. France's Meta ruling recognizes that protecting independent media is also about protecting democratic sovereignty. www.openmarketsinstitute.eu/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.eu
OMI on French Meta Ruling: ‘This Is About Sovereignty and Democracy as Much as Competition’ — OMI Europe
This decision is about European sovereignty and democracy as much as competition or bargaining power.
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Center for Media & Digital Governance @cmdgtech.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
We're especially looking forward to the very first conversation of the day on Wednesday, featuring @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov & @juliaangwin.com. AG Bonta is leading the charge in the states in fighting concentrated corporate control over our information / news / media environment. 💪
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Karina Montoya @pressgirlk.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
📆Heads-up for folks in D.C.! @openmarkets.bsky.social is hosting its 2026 flagship event on Wed 24, featuring California's AG @robbonta.bsky.social in conversation with @juliaangwin.com in the morning that day. The speakers line-up overall is just great 💪 www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
openmarketsinstitute.org
[Upcoming Event] The Next American Revolution: Breaking Oligarchy and Making a New Democracy — Open Markets Institute
Join us on June 24th, 2026 in Washington, DC for a convening designed to shape the next phase of American political debate, this event will elevate the fight against concentrated private power as a ...
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