UCC Media Justice Ministry

Big Tech’s newest target market is still in diapers. A new white paper from our friends at @fairplayforkids.bsky.social shows how apps and AI toys are built to hook kids from birth to age 5, and what we can do about it. Every child bears the image of God; their earliest years are holy ground.

Election Day is Nov. 3 — just 9 days away! Check your registration and find your polling place with Our Faith Our Vote from @unitedchurch.bsky.social. Then ask a neighbor if they have a plan, because a personal ask from someone you trust makes a real difference. #VoteWithLove

Our Media Justice Fellow, the Rev. Dr. D. Amina B. Butts, reflected on her friend and mentor, the Bishop Yao K.R. Cheeks. Dr. Butts’ tribute asks a question at the heart of media justice: who decides whose story gets written down?

A group is asking the FCC to let political campaigns blast AI-generated robocalls to your cellphone without your consent, right before the midterms. We joined @nclc4consumers.bsky.social to oppose it. AI deepfake voices have no business showing up uninvited on anyone’s phone.

Our ministry exists because citizens won the right to participate in FCC proceedings. So when @wyden.senate.gov asks whether an all-Republican FCC would even be legal under the Communications Act, we’re paying close attention.

A teen could talk to ChatGPT about suicide for a full hour without triggering a single parental alert. Common Sense Media tested ChatGPT for Teens with over 4,000 prompts and rated it “Unacceptable Risk” for everyone under 18. Essential reading for pastors, parents, teachers, and youth leaders:

🌍💦 Reminder: Our Creation Justice Webinar is TOMORROW, Oct. 14 at 1 PM ET! Learn how expanding data centers impact communities and the environment. Hear from Memphis activist Alexis Humphreys and get tips for writing letters to the editor. 👉🏾 Register:

Last week, a federal appeals court confirmed that the FCC’s 2024 phone justice rules were lawful, including the ban on the kickbacks that prisons collect from phone companies at families’ expense. We filed in this case, and the fight for #phonejustice is far from over. Learn more:

We’ve been doing communications policy work since 1959, long enough to know what industry self-regulation looks like: whatever the industry wants it to look like. The White House just asked AI companies whose products have been breaking into government websites to police themselves.

🚨 BREAKING: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit just issued a ruling upholding most of the FCC’s 2024 phone justice decision, affirming that the decision — which the current FCC has since largely repealed — was fully in accordance with the law. #phonejustice Learn more 👇️

The 1996 Telecom Act barely covers how we use the internet today. Our friends at @bentoninstitute.bsky.social argue for a new law that treats broadband as the essential infrastructure it is.

Faith communities in Indiana asked Microsoft for 1% of data center costs as a binding community fund. Microsoft went quiet — one cent on the dollar was too much to talk about.

If you missed Dr. Ruha Benjamin’s Parker Lecture, we’ve posted 16 excerpts on YouTube. Her argument is central to our work: the people and companies behind the screen are responsible for AI’s harms — but we can build something different.

We joined @natfairhouse.bsky.social, @civilrightsorg.bsky.social, and other orgs to tell the FTC: ban surveillance pricing. Companies are using our data to charge us more and the FTC has the authority to stop it.

.@princeeditor.bsky.social received this year’s Parker Award for decades of work holding the news industry accountable on race and representation. He shared his reflections and remarks on his journal-isms blog:

What a day! We can’t believe #ParkerLecture2026 was two weeks ago. Read the full recap on the blog: buff.ly/nuosoHf View clips from the event: buff.ly/1JEBW1D

We're working with @unitedchurch.bsky.social Environmental Justice Ministries to dig into AI data centers. These facilities drain local water and power, and some are getting built through deals hidden behind NDAs. Learn more: buff.ly/gZClL3F

Congress is rewriting how the Universal Service Fund is funded, and we joined 25+ organizations in a letter to Congress to say the companies profiting most from the internet should pay in, not working families:

Jesus calls us in Matthew 25:35-40 to visit & care for people in prison. We can’t fulfill that calling if families are priced out of connection. Incarcerated people at a Kentucky prison are being capped at four 15-min calls/day while corporations profit from every minute. More @prismreports.org:

Media justice means the media has a responsibility to the people it covers. In Mexico, a @waccglobal.bsky.social supported project built codes of ethics for covering gender-based violence, shaped by the families of victims and the journalists who report on them.

At our Parker Lecture last week, @ruha9.bsky.social highlighted Kanaka ʻŌiwi scientist Keolu Fox’s work on community-controlled computing in Hawaiʻi. In this op-ed, Fox and colleagues lay out why AI can serve island communities, *but only if those communities have a real say in how it’s built.*

We joined @civilrightsorg.bsky.social & other orgs to oppose a bill provision that would let financial firms test AI systems on real people while exempting them from fair lending and fair housing laws. These experiments would harm real people. So the Senate rejected it! READ: buff.ly/Z1L9LpK

When the FCC threatens a network until it pulls a candidate interview off the air, that’s government censorship. We’ve held the FCC accountable since 1959; we know what this looks like, and we’ll keep fighting back.

Tech industry leaders want you to believe democracy is outdated software. At the 44th Parker Lecture yesterday, Dr. Ruha Benjamin told them they’re wrong, and showed us what fighting back looks like. Read our recap:

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown tonight, and we want to wish our Jewish friends, neighbors, and partners in the work of justice a sweet and peaceful new year. Shana tova!

Dr. Ruha Benjamin concludes an incredible Parker Lecture, riffing off of Octavia E. Butler: “It may be the end of the world, but there are other worlds!” #ParkerLecture2026

“AI is not doing anything. The people and companies behind the screen are.” — @ruha9.bsky.social #ParkerLecture2026

“To be led by tech oligarchs is to encode an unjust past into the future, and call it progress.” Dr. @ruha9.bsky.social, UCC Media Justice Ministry Parker Lecture

ALERT: @ruha9.bsky.social takes the #ParkerLecture2026 stage momentarily! You do *not* want to miss this lecture (and after today, it will not be available online). Tune in live on YouTube now 👇

“These Trumpian times are particularly challenging for journalists of color.” Parker Award honoree @princeeditor.bsky.social notes that the Black press has experienced an 80% decline in revenue since the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion ramped up a year ago. #ParkerLecture2026

“We’re working to pass the AI Civil Rights Act because when AI systems shape who can land a job, find housing, or obtain health care, that is far more than tech policy.” — @cleanza.bsky.social #ParkerLecture2026

Policy Advisor @cleanza.bsky.social: “The FCC’s recent attacks on LGBTQ+ TV content struck close to home. It was 22 years ago that the @unitedchurch.bsky.social made headlines by proclaiming through its famous bouncers ad that ‘Jesus didn’t turn away people and neither do we.’” #ParkerLecture2026

Rev. Freeman Palmer, UCC Media Justice board member, delivers this morning’s invocation: “May our commitment to media justice be a bridge across the divides.” #ParkerLecture2026

Our #ParkerLecture2026 program has begun! Join us on YouTube 👇

And we’re live! Our program will begin soon. Joining us in person or virtually for the 44th Annual Parker Lecture and Awards Luncheon? Share your favorite moments with the hashtag #ParkerLecture2026!

Today’s the day! We’ll post live updates from #ParkerLecture2026 here on Bluesky. Then, bookmark the live feed if you’re tuning in from home. Trust us, you won’t want to miss @ruha9.bsky.social & @princeeditor.bsky.social. We’ll begin streaming around 11:45 am ET:

🗓️ It’s not too late to get your ticket for #ParkerLecture2026! Join us in person in Washington, D.C. or virtually on Thursday! 🎟️ Get yours here (Pay What You Can Tickets are still available!): buff.ly/SgYZpuQ ‼️ Dr. Benjamin’s speech will NOT be available online afterward, so join us live!

The Parker Lecture is less than 48 hours away! Hear directly from our Parker Award honoree @princeeditor.bsky.social and get your tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/44th-annua...