Incoming Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has demanded answers from Big Tech companies for their involvement in what he describes as a “censorship cartel” aimed at suppressing speech with which they disagree.
President-elect Trump on Sunday called Kerr a “free speech fighter” and announced his nomination to head the agency, along with Google's Sundar Pichai, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Meta Inc. sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg and Apple's Tim Cook.
The letter was dated Nov. 13, just days before President Trump announced his promotion from the FCC's senior Republican commissioner to permanent chairman.
Republicans specifically asked for information about the deal with NewsGuard. NewsGuard is a for-profit “fact-checking” company that is at odds with Republicans in Congress for targeting conservative news outlets, labeling them more “dangerous” than liberal ones.
“Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and others have played central roles in the censorship cartel.” Kerr wrote in the X post Last Friday with a letter. “The Orwellian name Newsguard, along with 'fact-checking' groups and advertising agencies, helped enforce a one-sided narrative.”
Executives at major tech companies have until Dec. 10 to decide which products and services are affiliated with NewsGuard and whether they require online customers to rely on NewsGuard to use their services. was asked to submit a response to the FCC.
Carr's investigation could impact the future of Section 230, a controversial law that shields companies from liability for third-party content posted on their platforms.
In his letter, Carr noted that Section 230 protections only apply if a company operates in “good faith.”
The Trump appointee cited an “ongoing investigation” into News Guard by the House Oversight Committee.
NewsGuard's advisory board was signed to the now-infamous October 2020 letter by former intelligence officials that detonated false claims that the Hunter Biden laptop incident was Russian disinformation. “The letter itself sparked a wave of censorship,” Kerr added. .
NewsGuard has denied any wrongdoing and pushed back against Carr's letter in a lengthy statement, insisting that its work “does not involve any form of censorship or silence.”
“The key claims in the letter about NewsGuard are false, citing unreliable sources,” NewsGuard said in a statement.
Kerr also asked for information on whether companies like Google and Meta, which also provide advertising services, use NewsGuard or other “media monitoring and fact-checking services” as part of their dealings with customers. are.
Kerr said Big Tech companies are working with so-called media watchdogs to “defund, strip revenue from, and otherwise take action against news outlets and organizations that dare to deviate from the approved narrative.” He claimed that he was complicit in an effort to “exclude him from business.”
“This censorship cartel is an affront to Americans' constitutional freedoms and must be completely dismantled,” Carr added in the letter. Americans must take back our right to free speech. ”
Meta declined to comment on Carr's letter, but the company noted that NewsGuard is not a fact-checking partner.
Zuckerberg wrote in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee in August that Biden administration officials, including the White House, told Mehta to “censor” content related to the 2021 coronavirus pandemic. “I repeatedly put pressure on him,” he admitted.
Zuckerberg added that he now feels Facebook made a mistake in suppressing the Post's exclusive coverage of Hunter Biden's laptop in 2020.
“We don't use the NewsGuard service in our products, and our business model relies on connecting people with a wide range of perspectives and opinions,” Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement.
Microsoft declined to comment. Apple did not respond to the Post's request for comment.
Carr was first appointed to the FCC in 2017 during President Trump's first term. The current term of office runs until 2029.
“Commissioner Carr is a free speech fighter who has fought against restrictive laws that stifle the freedoms of the American people and stifle the economy,” President Trump said in a statement regarding the selection of chairman.
“He will end the regulatory onslaught that is paralyzing America's job creators and innovators and ensure the FCC serves rural America.”
Kerr publicly criticized NBC's decision to allow Vice President Kamala Harris to appear on “Saturday Night Live,” calling it a “clear and blatant effort” to circumvent the equal time rule. , causing ripples ahead of the 2024 election.
