President-elect Trump's pick to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr, argues that free speech is under unprecedented threat across social media, government and traditional media platforms. He vowed to fight what he called the “censorship cartel.”
In an interview with NewsNation, Carr said:cuomo”, outlining a multi-pronged approach to addressing the increasing restrictions on freedom of expression that he believes have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Diversity of opinion is very important in this country, and crushing this censorship cartel will be one of my top priorities,” Carr said.
The FCC is an independent agency with oversight from Congress, but President Trump has placed the agency under tighter White House control, in part to punish TV stations that cover the agency in ways he doesn't like. He suggests that he wants to.
Carr, who has served as FCC commissioner since 2017, could seek to bring about sweeping changes at the agency regarding freedoms for technology and broadcast companies.
in Statement issued after President Trump's victory “The FCC will play an important role in reining in Big Tech, ensuring broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unlocking economic growth,” Kerr said of the election. All topics he touched on in Project 2025.
What did Mr. Carr say he would do as FCC chairman?
During the interview, Carr identified three key players in this alleged censorship effort: technology platforms, government officials, and advertising agencies.
Kerr specifically criticized the current interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Act, which provides legal protection to online platforms.
“If you get a bunch of companies that decide not to compete in a function of their business that includes content moderation, that could be an issue under our nation's competition laws,” Kerr told NewsNation.
While he supported the requirement to protect platforms from liability for user-generated content, he argued that the takedown terms were interpreted too broadly and allowed for excessive moderation of content.
“Increasing government control necessarily reduces free speech,” Kerr said. “It’s fundamentally un-American.”
He suggested that the FCC could play an important role in promoting diverse perspectives by reconsidering how Section 230 is implemented. He expressed particular concern about so-called fact-checkers, which he characterized as “narrative checkers” that often stifle political speech.
“I think what we need to protect is core political speech, religious speech and scientific speech,” Carr said.
Kerr also highlighted broader media trust issues, noting that the credibility of traditional media has now fallen to the point where it is lower in public trust than Congress. He said broadcasters have a legal obligation to serve the public interest and will take that obligation seriously.
“It wasn't that long ago that the mass media was the most trusted institution in the United States, and for a long time it outperformed Congress, at least in terms of trust, but recently it has fallen below Congress,” Carr said. Ta. “I think the FCC needs to make sure that broadcasters comply with their public interest obligations.”
Beyond speech issues, Carr said he would follow the Trump administration's policies and focus on economic initiatives such as spectrum allocation and support for the space economy.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
