The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling stipulating that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can relax media ownership rules and reverse a court decision handed down by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Before the April 1 Supreme Court ruling, the lower court ruling had blocked the FCC’s repeal of some media ownership regulations in 2017 for failing to consider the effects of the regulations on ownership by racial minorities and women. Critics of the industry have said further consolidation could limit media choices for consumers. The Prometheus Radio Project and other public interest groups challenged the FCC’s changes, arguing that the body used flawed data. However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote (pdf) the unanimous decision, stated that the FCC made “a reasonable predictive judgment based on the evidence it had” in changing the rules. “The FCC acknowledged the gaps in the data sets it relied on, and noted that, despite …
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