'Outrageous': Sanders Slams FCC for Approving Saudi and UAE Ownership of Paramount-Warner Bros.

Key Points:

• The FCC, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, approved foreign investment allowing nearly 50% ownership of a merged Paramount-Warner Bros. by investors from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, sparking criticism from Senator Bernie Sanders and others.
• Sanders and Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez expressed concerns that these Middle Eastern authoritarian regimes could exert undue influence over major American media outlets, including CBS, CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros.
• Critics argue the FCC's approval lacked transparency, as it was made through a staff-level decision without a full commission vote or public accountability, raising national security and press freedom issues.
• Legal experts and advocacy groups warn that restrictions on foreign influence are unenforceable, and financial leverage alone could impact editorial independence, especially given the regimes' histories of human rights abuses and media censorship.
• Paramount and the FCC dismissed concerns as speculative, emphasizing that the Ellison family would retain voting control, but opposition continues amid broader criticism of the $111 billion merger's potential implications.