jawboning

Jawboning refers to the use of informal government pressure, such as threats, warnings, or implied consequences, to coerce private parties into suppressing or altering speech that the government could not lawfully prohibit directly. While officials may seek to persuade, the First Amendment forbids them from using the implicit threat of regulatory or other reprisal to compel private actors to censor protected expression. Allegations of such have been levied against FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, including his public pressure on broadcasters over the Jimmy Kimmel program, which the American Civil Liberties Union characterized as unconstitutional jawboning.