FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s war on the First Amendment – The Verge

Brendan Carr plans to let broadcast giants dominate the airwaves

2026-07-16T09:04:05-04:00

Federal Communications Commission. | Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge

The Federal Communications Commission will vote next month on whether a single company can own broadcast stations that reach more than 39 percent of US TV households.

In a Breitbart op-ed on Wednesday, Republican FCC Chair Brendan Carr announced an August 6th vote to end the national ownership cap rule, which was intended to prevent one company from dominating the media landscape and incentivize serving local communities. Carr argued the rise of social media and streaming platforms renders the rule obsolete, because national programmers can reach "100 percent of the country" without the need to access public airwaves. Under this reasoning, …

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The bill that would let Jimmy Kimmel sue Brendan Carr is here

2026-06-12T05:55:49-04:00

Under a new bipartisan bill, Americans could sue for damages if a government official illegally tries to coerce a social media, AI, or broadcasting company to remove their post - regardless of whether the platform actually does it.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the JAWBONE Act on Thursday, which, in addition to letting individuals sue for these kinds of damages, would create new transparency requirements for government communications with social media, AI, and broadcast companies.

That could empower someone like Jimmy Kimmel to sue Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr …

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Former FCC staffers agree: Brendan Carr needs to be stopped

2026-04-28T13:06:42-04:00

Several former Federal Communications Commissioners and staffers across parties are urging a federal appeals court to force a vote on the FCC's news distortion policy, which they argue should be repealed after being abused by Republican Chair Brendan Carr.

On Tuesday, a group of petitioners asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to require the FCC to vote on a petition to repeal the News Distortion Policy. The petition was filed by the bipartisan group of former officials in November of 2025, after Carr invoked the rule to pressure ABC into temporarily suspending comedian Jimmy Kimmel. But only the agency chair can bring …

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Brendan Carr’s war on wokeness targets inclusive children’s television

2026-04-24T06:06:26-04:00

Under the guidance of consummate bully / chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC is taking steps toward cracking down on children's entertainment that in any way explores the complexities of gender identity.

On Wednesday, the FCC's Media Bureau announced that it is soliciting comments from the public about whether the TV ratings system has made sound decisions regarding children's programming with transgender or nonbinary characters. In a statement about the commenting period the FCC said that it was soliciting feedback due to an alleged uptick in "significant concerns" about whether "controversial gender identity issues are being included or promot …

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Brendan Carr says his broadcast license threat wasn’t really about Iran war coverage

2026-03-27T09:51:42-04:00

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr never meant to threaten broadcast licenses over their coverage of the war in Iran, he told reporters after an event hosted by FGS and Semafor.

"My comments weren't actually on the Iran war," Carr said in response to a question from The Verge about his statement regarding coverage of the war. "I understand why people say that. I made a statement quoting a tweet."

On March 14th, Carr quote-tweeted a screenshot of a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump, who had bemoaned "an intentionally misleading headline" related to the US military action in the Middle East. "Broadcasters that a …

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Brendan Carr is a dummy

2025-12-19T09:49:49-05:00

All year on The Vergecast, we've been tracking the many bizarre and problematic actions of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. There has been a lot to discuss! Then, this week, ahead of one of our last episodes of the year, Carr appeared in front of the Senate Commerce Committee and spent three hours explaining how he thinks about his job, the FCC, and the state of online communication and entertainment. It was a lot.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we begin with a dissection of Carr's testimony, his threats against broadcasters, and the ways in which he's using old ideas about content delivery to get his political way. Nilay and David walk throug …

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Brendan Carr doesn’t regret his threats to broadcasters

2025-12-17T17:35:23-05:00

A defiant Brendan Carr testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday in his first public appearance before lawmakers since threatening broadcasters who aired comedian Jimmy Kimmel's show.

Over the course of nearly three hours, the Federal Communications Commission chairman ping-ponged between heated exchanges with Democrats and largely muted questions from Republicans. But at least some members of both parties expressed concern about regulators bending the First Amendment - though there's little sign it will have much impact on Carr.

Taking center stage were comments Carr made in September in the wake of the public killing o …

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Brendan Carr’s FCC launches probe into BBC’s Trump edit

2025-11-20T09:33:42-05:00

FCC chair Brendan Carr has reportedly written to the BBC, PBS, and NPR announcing an investigation into whether a controversial BBC documentary with a misleading edit of a Donald Trump speech was ever aired in the US.

Breitbart obtained a copy of the letter, which hasn't been shared publicly by either Carr or the FCC. It's addressed to Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS, and Tim Davie, who was the director-general of the BBC until he announced his resignation last week.

In it, Carr asks if the BBC provided "either the video or audio of the spliced speech" to either NPR or PBS, and requests transcrip …

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Brendan Carr wants to let internet providers charge hidden fees again

2025-10-10T09:14:43-04:00

Broadband customers may find themselves blighted by unexpected charges again, thanks to Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr. The FCC has submitted a proposal to revise "unnecessary" requirements for internet service providers to itemize every fee on monthly bills, citing that it "may confuse customers."

The proposal comes in response to complaints by ISPs over a Biden-era transparency rule that took effect in April 2024, arguing that their self-inflicted billing complexity made it impractical and burdensome to list every fee they impose on consumers. Compliance with the rule requires that ISPs either create a broadband " …

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Kimmel returns to television to mock FCC Chair Brendan Carr

2025-09-24T08:28:13-04:00

Jimmy Kimmel made a triumphant return to television (in most, but not all, cities) on Tuesday night, devoting his monologue to his short but shocking removal from the air. The comedian tackled the uproar head-on, directly naming Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chair who had instigated Kimmel's censorship. In a later segment, he took aim at Carr during a sketch in which Robert De Niro played an unnamed FCC chair occupying Carr's office.

In his opening remarks, Kimmel impressed upon the value of free speech, saying that he had met comedians and talk show hosts from totalitarian countries who had told him that they could "g …

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