Many people have criticized some of President-elect Donald Trump’s selections for cabinet and agency positions.
During the 2024 presidential election, the initiative known as Project 2025 sent shockwaves throughout the country because it would allegedly strip rights away from American citizens and veer the country towards autocracy.
Because of the controversy, President-elect Donald Trump and many of his supporters sought to distance the former president from the polarizing agenda.
Although Trump did not write Project 2025, with his supporters consistently saying that Trump had his own agenda called Agenda 47, he gave critics of Project 2025 more ammunition by nominating one of its authors, Brendan Carr, to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
On X, Carr said, “We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.”
CNN reported, “The comments from Carr, who wrote the chapter on the FCC in the conservative blueprint Project 2025, signaled that it won’t be business-as-usual at the country’s communications regulatory agency. Past chairs of the agency, both Republicans and Democrats, have emphasized broadband Internet deployment and wireless spectrum policy. Carr didn’t mention those issues…
“Instead, he took aim at technology companies for ‘censorship;’ promised to hold broadcast TV and radio stations accountable; and pledged to end the FCC’s promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Although Carr spoke positively about free speech, many critics of Trump have called out what they see as hypocrisy as he has threatened to take FCC licenses away from television networks that report negative stories about him.
He has also threatened to jail his enemies and those that speak out against him.
CNN reported, “The FCC does have jurisdiction over local TV and radio stations. During his reelection campaign, Trump called for every major American TV news network to be punished, often because of interview questions he disliked or programming he detested. He repeatedly said that certain licenses should be revoked—usually while misstating how the licensing process works.
“The FCC grants eight-year license terms and hasn’t denied any license renewals in decades. But Carr indicated earlier this month that he would take Trump’s complaints seriously. And he wrote on X Sunday night that ‘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.’”
Carr added, “the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation.”
While many people have criticized companies like social media networks for removing or tagging information that is not factual, a private company policing its business does not violate the First Amendment.
However, it would constitute a free speech violation if the government or a government official like the president punishes people, media businesses and journalists for expressing themselves.
Violating the First Amendment would also be Carr and the FCC telling technology and media companies that they cannot have certain rules and regulations for its users and employees.
CNN reported, “Claims of conservative censorship erupted several years ago as a result of content moderation decisions by social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Officials at the platforms said they were acting in good faith to reduce some of the toxicity—like election lies and Covid pandemic conspiracy theories—that turned off many users. Conservatives charged that the platforms were unfairly silencing their views—factoring into Musk’s decision to buy Twitter and turn it into X.”
Despite Elon Musk stating that he viewed himself as a free speech absolutist and seeing X as an online town square where all views could get heard, his detractors criticized him for silencing people who were critical of him like journalist Don Lemon and allegedly using algorithms on X that favored conservative viewpoints during the contentious 2024 presidential election.
Carr has also faced scrutiny for his apparent close relationship with billionaire Musk.
As head of the FCC, Carr could steer business towards Musk’s company Starlink to the tune of billions of dollars in government subsidies.
On Sunday, Musk praised the nomination of Carr.
Many have seen Musk’s involvement in the 2024 presidential election, including raffling money, was to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration to add to his coffers and shield him from him potential legal wrongdoing.
But despite Carr’s tough talk, many see it as more bark than bite.
CNN reported, “These battles are sure to continue once Carr becomes chairman, but they may be more in words than deeds. The FCC does not have any meaningful oversight of tech platforms like Google, and it would probably take an act of Congress to change that.”
Despite Trump reneging on his plans to ban TikTok, Carr said that the Chinese social media app, “poses a serious and unacceptable risk to America’s ‘national security’ and should be banned. Carr’s years-long crusade against TikTok paralleled Trump’s calls, although Trump reversed his position on TikTok earlier this year.”
Carr has also supported rolling back net neutrality rules that make the Internet a fair playing ground for all companies, big or small.
Additionally, he has called for “legislation that scraps” Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
That legislation gives immunity to tech companies that moderate user-generated content.
In Project 2025, Carr wrote, “Congress should do so. By ensuring that Internet companies no longer have carte blanche to censor protected speech while maintaining their Section 230 protections.”
Despite the pushback from the left, Carr has received praise from some Democrats.
On X, Gigi Sohn, a lawyer who worked for the FCC under Democrat Tom Wheeler, said, “We may not agree on everything (or much of anything!), but he is highly qualified and a good guy.”
