US Senate panel approves bill to bar government officials from pressuring networks on free speech

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation Wednesday to bar government officials from pressuring private companies to censor speech, citing threats by President Donald Trump's administration to late-night talk shows.

Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the panel, said the bill, if it had been in effect, would have allowed Disney-owned ABC's late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel to file suit after Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr last year pressured station owners to stop airing Kimmel's show following remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.