Trump’s FCC Pick Threatens Broadcast Media, Promises to ‘Enforce’ Their ‘Public Interest Obligation’

Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via AP, Pool, File

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, took to social media on Sunday and threatened broadcast media with upcoming government regulations to make sure it is acting in what he deems the “public interest.”

Trump announced Carr, the senior Republican among the FCC’s current five commissioners and the author of Project 2025’s section on the FCC, on Sunday.

“Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms, and held back our Economy,” Trump wrote in a Sunday post.

“He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America,” added the incoming president.

Carr thanked Trump online and said, “We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.”

In a later post, he added, “Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resource—our airwaves. In turn, they are required by law to operate in the public interest.”

“When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation,” Carr concluded.

Carr’s involvement with the Heritage Foundation’s hard-right governing blueprint, Project 2025, has raised eyebrows – especially given Trump’s adamant denials that he wanted nothing to do with the unpopular policy agenda. NBC News summed up Carr’s chapter in Project 2025:

Carr suggested TikTok should be banned if it fails to disentangle from its China-based parent company — an issue on which Trump held conflicting views before he joined the app himself this year. He also called for working with Congress to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which gives social media companies a level of immunity for the content on their platforms and allows them to moderate certain objectionable content “in good faith.”

Carr may find himself at odds with Trump over TikTok as the president-elect has changed his position on banning the Chinese-owned social media app and one of Trump’s biggest donors, Jeff Yass, has a major stake in the company.

While has been critical of big tech and social media protections, he is an ally of X owner Elon Musk. “Musk celebrated Carr’s appointment on X on Sunday night. Both men talk in much the same way about free speech rights, reflecting widespread concerns on the right about online censorship,” reported CNN’s Brian Stelter on Monday.