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.”

She said it was "a deal that was linked to a payout to settle a baseless lawsuit and other troubling concessions"

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.”

Brendan Carr defended new Skydance-Paramount newsroom oversight, saying it's “time for a change” and aims to restore trust in media and unwind DEI policies.

"Despite this regrettable outcome, this Administration is not done with its assault on the First Amendment. In fact, it may only be beginning," Anna M. Gomez said.

Recently, comedian Stephen Colbert—whose popular CBS Late Show will be cancelled next May despite being No. 1, in what many view as censorship due to his jokes about Trump—pointedly mocked the settlement the first chance he got, AP News reported.