In a move that shakes-up telecommunications leadership Donald Trump picked Brendan Carr (45-year old top Republican commissioner) as new FCC chairman on nov 17th
The soon-to-be chairman has shown strong views against current policies: he didnt support the $900M funding for Elon Musks Starlink and opposed the Commerce Departments $42B broadband program. Last week Carr sent letters to tech giants pointing at free-speech issues; which caused quick push-back from Senator Ed Markey who thinks its government over-reach
A regulator implicitly threatening private companies for their speech. The FCC under Trump is prepared to become the Federal Censorship Commission
Carr takes firm stand on media ownership rules - he wants less strict control over how many radio-tv stations one company can own in single market. His track-record shows clear anti-China position (he was first-ever FCC member visiting Taiwan about 2 years ago)
The next administration needs one more Republican for the five-member commission before taking full control. Carr worked as FCC general counsel before Trump first picked him in early-2017‚ and now opposes the return of net-neutrality rules that got cancelled during previous Trump term
The National Association of Broadcasters supports this pick and notes these key goals:
- Hold big tech companies responsible
- Help local stations compete better
- Change current broadcast rules
- Support free-speech rights