By Autumn Telles
November 18, 2025
On November 12, 2025, Public Knowledge convened former agency staff, seasoned practitioners, civil society leaders, and members of Congress for a day of unyielding investigation into the failure of independent agencies to serve the public interest.
In the absence of congressional oversight hearings, Public Knowledge – joined by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Public Citizen, TechFreedom and other organizations – stepped up to demand accountability from the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What followed was a constructive series of in-depth discussions on FCC Failures, FTC Drift, and CFPB Enforcement Gaps, as well as remarks from members of Congress invested in carving a path forward.
Opening Remarks by Chris Lewis, President and CEO at Public Knowledge
From left to right: Tom Wheeler, Bob Corn-Revere, and Gigi Sohn serving as witnesses, and Lauren Harper, Berin Szóka, Harold Feld, Ceilidh Gao, Raza Panjwani, Matt Wood, and Joey Wender serving as questioners for the People’s Federal Communications Commission Hearing.
Witnesses joined Public Knowledge from the Brookings Institution, the Benton Institute, the American Association of Public Broadband, and Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression to testify before questioners from Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, TechFreedom, Free Press, Public Knowledge, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Communications Workers of America, and the Free Press Foundation about the FCC’s repeated failures to rein in monopolistic Big Tech, defend consumer rights and protections, and expand connectivity to the communities that need it. The witnesses unequivocally affirmed that Brendan Carr’s actions as FCC Chairman have endangered not only the future of the agency, but the future of our democracy – and we must disentangle the FCC from the White House’s influence if we hope to preserve both.
From left to right: FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Bilaal Sayyed serving as witnesses questioned by Frank Torres, David Brody, John Davisson, Eric Null, Shae Gardner, Lisa Hone, Anna Lenhart.
Witnesses from the FTC and TechFreedom were then examined by questioners from the Center for Democracy and Technology, EPIC, LGBT Tech, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. This hearing demanded that the FTC refocus on the unchecked corporate consolidation that is actually harming consumers and go after the lack of transparency and accountability in current markets.
The lunch break was bookended with video appearances by Rep. Summer L. Lee (D-PA) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Both members of their respective oversight committees, they urged fellow members of Congress to intervene in President Trump’s authoritarian takeover and wielding of federal agencies for his personal interests or grudges.
From left to right: Christine Zinner, Jennifer Zhang, and Erie Meyer serve as witnesses for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and take questions from Bart Naylor, Erin Witte, and Chi Chi Wu.
Finally, participants from the Institute for Technology Law & Policy, Alliance for Justice, and Protect Borrowers, posed as witnesses for the CFPB while questioners from the National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Federation of America, and Public Citizen called out lenders’ financial abuse of working families, enabled – and at times facilitated – by the Trump administration. The witnesses testified to the CFPB’s crumbling under the affordability crisis and forecasted an even steeper cost to consumers if this financial predation is allowed to continue without oversight.
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon delivers closing remarks.
Finally, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) joined Public Knowledge to deliver closing remarks calling for relentless oversight and a policy agenda that prioritizes reform and addressing corruption. The event was livestreamed on YouTube, where you can also watch the full recording.
