News Corp.’s Admission of Guilt Shouldn't Fall on Deaf Ears in Washington

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, News Corp. admitted to British officials that “senior employees and directors” of the company’s British newspaper division, News Group Newspapers, knew about illegal phone hacking by News of the World staff “and sought to conceal it by deliberately deceiving investigators and destroying evidence.”

News Group Newspapers has agreed to pay damages in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to 36 phone-hacking victims. The admissions are relevant to alleged News Corp. phone-hacking violations now under investigation in the United States. The news coincides with News Corp.’s ongoing efforts to pass controversial U.S. copyright legislation and expand its media empire by lifting ownership rules now under review by the Federal Communications Commission.

Free Press Senior Director of Strategy Timothy Karr made the following statement:

“The phone-hacking settlement amounts to an admission of guilt by News Corp. executives, and should compel the FBI and Department of Justice to accelerate investigations into alleged illegal acts by the company here in the U.S.

“It’s troubling that a company with a track record of corporate misconduct and corruption can continue to dictate media policy in America. News Corp. has spent nearly $70 million dollars on campaign contributions and lobbyists to get its way in Washington.

“This includes efforts to force Congress to pass the controversial Protect IP Act and Stop Online Piracy Act in defiance of the millions of Americans who yesterday called for Congress to abandon this legislation. And News Corp. has actively and aggressively lobbied the FCC to further weaken media ownership limits.

“Members of Congress and regulators at the FCC must stop allowing Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. to have such an immense influence over the future of American media. It’s time they listened to the American public instead.”