NewsGuard's lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission has survived a motion to dismiss, clearing the case for discovery. The company that rates news credibility alleges that the Trump administration's FTC orchestrated a campaign to defund and discredit NewsGuard in retaliation for its reliability ratings of partisan news sites. [1]

The case has advanced since this paper's March 27 coverage. The FTC had sought dismissal on jurisdictional and standing grounds. The court rejected both arguments, finding that NewsGuard had plausibly alleged government retaliation for protected speech — its credibility ratings.

Discovery is where the case transforms from legal procedure to public accountability. NewsGuard will be able to depose administration officials who communicated about the company, subpoena internal FTC documents, and establish the scope of what it alleges was a coordinated effort. FIRE, the free speech organization, filed a supporting brief arguing the FTC "unconstitutionally targeted NewsGuard for its First Amendment activity." [2]

The FTC's investigation of NewsGuard sits within a broader pattern of press credibility infrastructure coming under government pressure. The Pentagon media corridor closure, the Don Lemon prosecution, and the NewsGuard case are three faces of the same question: can the government punish institutions that evaluate the truthfulness of public speech?

NewsGuard rates over 10,000 news sites and is used by advertisers to avoid funding unreliable publishers. The FTC investigation, which began after NewsGuard downgraded several administration-aligned outlets, has already cost the company legal fees exceeding its annual revenue from government contracts.

-- ANNA WEBER, Berlin