Lisa Macpherson
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lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
Lisa Macpherson
@lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
300 followers 760 following 100 posts
Former CMO, now Policy Director at Public Knowledge (but my skeets are my own). I’m new here. Be nice.
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lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
Former regulators accused FCC Chair Brendan Carr of “obliterating” the agency's credibility as an independent regulatory body at the People’s Oversight Hearing hosted today by @publicknowledge.bsky.social. Experts and advocates also discussed the FTC, CFPB.

broadbandbreakfast.com/former-offic...
Former Officials: FCC’s Independence ‘Obliterated’ Under Carr
The FCC now serves political interests instead of the public, former agency officials said.
broadbandbreakfast.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
Happening this week! Don't miss our upcoming in-person event "The People's Oversight Hearing." We are 10 months into the 119th Congress, and American has yet to see an oversight hearing for independent agencies such as the FCC, FTC and CFPB — so we've decided to host our own.
Graphic with text that reads, "The People's Oversight Hearing. Wednesday November 12 9 AM to 4 PM. True Reformer Building 1200 U St NW #3 Washington, DC 20009. Live-stream available. https://publicknowledge.org/oversight
November 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
From the "saw this one coming" department: in a recent blog post @publicknowledge.bsky.social noted that "When compared to the actual rules and practices of the Motion Picture Association it purports to emulate, Instagram’s claim [of PG-13 content] falls apart."

publicknowledge.org/instagram-pg...
November 5, 2025 at 10:07 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
NOW: @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague and SVP @haroldfeld.bsky.social testifies in Senate Commerce hearing on Uncle Sam and jawboning. He'll urge Congress to act to protect free speech from the Trump administration.
Watch here:

www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/10/part...
**NEW TIME AND WITNESS UPDATE** Part II of Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee hearing titled “Shut Your App: How Uncle Sa...
www.commerce.senate.gov
October 29, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
Though the name might sound familiar, Instagram's new PG-13 ratings system has little in common with its film industry counterpart. The latest from Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social:

publicknowledge.org/instagram-pg...
Instagram's Borrowed Credibility: Why its “PG-13 Ratings” Initiative Falls Short
The social media platform's new content rating system has some major differences from its film industry counterpart.
publicknowledge.org
October 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
Last week, news media lobbyists flocked to the Hill to lobby for what they describe as “legislation to protect and support quality journalism” — which may very well include the embattled Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, or the #JCPA.
October 13, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
bergmayer.net
Apple removing ICEBlock, a legal app for monitoring ICE activity, from its app store at the behest of the federal government mirrors what it has done in other regimes. www.iceblock.app
From IceBlock site: ICEBlock Removed Following pressure from the Trump administration, Apple has removed ICEBlock from the App Store. We are incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions. Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move. Apple has claimed they received information from law enforcement that ICEBlock served to harm law enforcement officers. This is patently false. ICEBlock is no different from crowd sourcing speed traps, which every notable mapping application, including Apple's own Maps app, implements as part of its core services. This is protected speech under the first amendment of the United States Constitution. We are determined to fight this with everything we have. Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to reign down on the people of this nation. We will not be deterred. We will not stop. #resist
October 6, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
“This is a level of censorship we haven’t seen in my lifetime.” @publicknowledge.bsky.social President and CEO @chrisjlewis.bsky.social weighs in with @nytimes.com on FCC Chair Carr's campaign against so-called "liberal bias" in media:

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/t...
Brendan Carr Plans to Keep Going After the Media
www.nytimes.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
In Part 2 of this two-part blog series, Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social breaks down the solutions news publishers are gravitating towards, as well as promising policy solutions to protect the public and business interest alike in this fast-moving space:
Is There a Middle Ground in the Tug of War Between News Publishers and AI Firms? Part 2: Framing Solutions
As the scuffle between publishers and AI developers drag on, policy solutions that balance fair use doctrine with incentives for publishers to keep creating are the path forward.
publicknowledge.org
September 24, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
President Trump's latest lawsuit against the @nytimes.com is just yet another in a series of filings to threaten freedom of the press. Read more in the latest from Policy Analyst @mwils.bsky.social at the link below:

publicknowledge.org/trump-defama...
The Latest Trump-NYT Defamation Suit is to Silence Speech, not Make Journalism Better
This latest defamation suit will not be the one that overturns the Sullivan doctrine, but President Trump is unlikely to give up.
publicknowledge.org
September 24, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
"Perhaps no technology underpins more the everyday functioning of our increasingly digital world than cloud computing." Read the latest from @nickgarcia.bsky.social and @elisephillips.bsky.social for @techpolicypress.bsky.social on why the cloud should be our next public utility:
Why The Cloud Should Be a Public Utility | TechPolicy.Press
Given that cloud computing has become such a central part of our lives, it should be regulated as a public utility, Michelle Nie and others write.
www.techpolicy.press
September 17, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
This month, the House Judiciary Committee hosted the hearing “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation”, focusing on an alleged threat that laws such as U.K.'s Online Safety Act & EU's Digital Services Act pose to U.S. free speech. But the evidence presented tells a different story.
September 15, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
Is it illegal to not buy ads on X? @publicknowledge.bsky.social Policy Director @lisahmacpherson.bsky.social and Policy Counsel @elisephillips.bsky.social weigh in with @arstechnica.com:

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Is it illegal to not buy ads on X? Experts explain the FTC’s bizarre ad fight.
Here’s the “least silly way” to wrap your head around the FTC’s war over X ads.
arstechnica.com
August 26, 2025 at 5:01 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
"As fans across the world celebrate the [pending] drop of her latest album, now is a good time to pause and reflect on how Taylor’s career has interacted with copyright...there are some lessons here for those interested in the intersection between copyright, creativity, and commerce."
August 13, 2025 at 3:31 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
Follow along as @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague @mrose.ink tracks the insights from the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism hearing on AI and copyright
mrose.ink Meredith Rose @mrose.ink · Jul 16
Hawley has decided to hold a hearing completely outside of his expertise, stacked with anti- fair use "experts," because he wants to drag Meta over the coals in absentia.

Join me in my suffering.
TIME CHANGE: Too Big to Prosecute?: Examining the AI Industry’s Mass Ingestion of Copyrighted Works for AI Training | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
www.judiciary.senate.gov
July 16, 2025 at 4:41 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
Today (and new time of 12pm): Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing, "Too Big to Prosecute?: Examining the AI Industry’s Mass Ingestion of Copyrighted Works for AI Training." 1/3

www.judiciary.senate.gov/committee-ac...
TIME CHANGE: Too Big to Prosecute?: Examining the AI Industry’s Mass Ingestion of Copyrighted Works for AI Training | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
www.judiciary.senate.gov
July 16, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
The Copyright Office finally released its long-awaited third installment on AI and fair use. But while the top-line conclusions were generally on point, the reasoning in their analysis misses the mark. The latest from @mrose.ink:

publicknowledge.org/the-fatal-fa...
The Fatal Failures of the Copyright Office’s Report on AI
At long last, the Copyright Office released its third report on fair use and AI — but their analysis contained serious missteps.
publicknowledge.org
July 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
The FTC's proposed "click-to-cancel" rule would have been a great move for consumer protection. But when it came time to defend the measure in court, the Commission dropped the ball completely. Read the latest from @bergmayer.net:

publicknowledge.org/why-click-to...
Why the FTC’s Click-to-Cancel Rule Deserved Better
Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.
publicknowledge.org
July 11, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
Last week, federal judges released two landmark decisions on artificial intelligence — both finding that AI training on copyrighted works is a protected fair use. Read the breakdown from @nickgarcia.bsky.social on what these rulings mean as well as their limitations at the link below:
Courts Agree: AI Training Ruled As Fair Use in Bartz v. Anthropic and Kadrey v. Meta
Two recent landmark trials on AI found that AI training on copyrighted works is fair use — but the details aren't so cut and dry.
publicknowledge.org
July 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
The Senate just passed its budget bill, including efforts to auction off public spectrum. Under this text, the FCC could be forced to sell off as much as half of the currently unlicensed spectrum in the 6 GHz band -- which could lead to slower Wi-Fi. publicknowledge.org/public-knowl...
Public Knowledge Opposes Senate Budget Bill Risking Nation’s Wi-Fi
Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.
publicknowledge.org
July 1, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
To be clear, this AI moratorium language that was struck from the Senate budget bill had NOTHING to do with AI development or innovation. Rather, it was an attempt to prevent states from regulating *anything* that could be perceived as touching an AI system at the state level.
July 1, 2025 at 12:44 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
As predicted, the FTC issued a consent order requiring ad agencies not “boycott” online publishers. But it ignores far more likely impacts of the merger on competition. My @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague @elisephillips.bsky.social and I break it down.

publicknowledge.org/update-the-f...
June 27, 2025 at 5:23 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
Typically, wonderfully spicy (and accurate) take on the “Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes” (PRO CODES) Act from @publicknowledge.bsky.social colleague @mrose.ink Can't think of a less accurately named act. #DontPaywallTheLaw
mrose.ink Meredith Rose @mrose.ink · Jun 26
Heads up that there's a renewed bipartisan effort to keep you from knowing what the law *is*
publicknowledge.bsky.social Public Knowledge @publicknowledge.bsky.social · Jun 26
Reps. Darrell Issa, Deborah Ross just reintroduced the PRO Codes Act to paywall the law. As @mrose.ink explains, "At a time when Americans are fighting rapid erosion of their rights and liberties, this bill would deny them the right to even know what the law is." publicknowledge.org/public-knowl...
June 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Lisa Macpherson
publicknowledge.bsky.social
Thanks to @amyklobuchar.com, Marsha Blackburn, & @blumenthal.senate.gov for reintroducing the Open App Markets Act to reduce gatekeeper power and realize the promise of true competition in the app economy. 🎉 Great step toward market fairness! publicknowledge.org/public-knowl...
Public Knowledge Applauds Bill To Open Up App Stores
Public Knowledge promotes freedom of expression, an open internet, and access to affordable communications tools and creative works. We work to shape policy.
publicknowledge.org
June 26, 2025 at 4:08 PM
lisahmacpherson.bsky.social
A very interesting thesis, but it fails to differentiate - as some judges have begun to do - between "algorithmic curation" and product design features that have nothing to do with serving content. We wrote about this, too. 1/6

Is Internet Content Too Engaging? www.lawfaremedia.org/article/is-i...
Is Internet Content Too Engaging?
By targeting design rather than content, lawmakers hope to regulate social media without constitutional roadblocks. Here’s why that’s a problem.
www.lawfaremedia.org
June 17, 2025 at 9:34 PM