“A warrior for free speech. » This is how Donald Trump presents Brendan Carr in the press release announcing, Sunday, November 17, the appointment of the latter as head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the American telecommunications regulator.
Supported by Elon Musk, Brendan Carr quickly reacted on X: “We must dismantle the censorship cartel”imposed according to him by the tech giants Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft, “and restore Americans’ right to free speech”.
Aged 45, Brendan Carr has worked at the FCC since 2012, and has been one of its commissioners since 2017, appointed to this position by Donald Trump during the Republican president's first term. He had previously worked as a lawyer specializing in regulatory issues.
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“Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and others played a central role in the censorship cartel”he had already declared on Friday, also on the X network. “The Orwellian organization called NewsGuard, along with 'fact-checking' groups and advertising agencies, have helped enforce one-sided narratives. The censorship cartel must be dismantled »he added.
The sensitive subject of rural areas
Pour Donald Trump, Brendan Carr “End the regulatory assault that has crippled America's job creators and innovators, and ensure the FCC meets the expectations of rural America”he further assured in his press release.
Internet access in rural areas is the subject that earned Brendan Carr the support of Elon Musk, appointed by Donald Trump to head a commission for“governmental efficiency”.
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In 2022, in fact, the FCC had revoked a subsidy of 885 million dollars (approximately 840 million euros) which had been granted at the end of 2020 to Starlink, a satellite Internet access provider, and one of the companies of Elon Musk.
This funding was intended to bring high-speed Internet to rural homes and businesses, but Starlink and the other company benefiting from these funds “failed to demonstrate that suppliers were capable of providing the promised service”the FCC said. Brendan Carr then spoke out against this decision.
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On October 14, while the electoral campaign was in full swing, he mentioned this decision in an article published in the Wall Street Journal : “In my opinion, this is nothing more than a regulatory retaliatory measure against one of the main targets of the left: Mr. Musk”.
“The FCC must change course”
Brendan Carr is also the author of the telecoms chapter of “Project 2025”, a nearly 900-page document developed by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, and road map for the overhaul of the federal state under Donald Trump .
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“The FCC must change course” et “achieve four primary goals: regain control of Big Tech, promote national security, unleash economic prosperity, and ensure FCC accountability and good governance”he wrote there.
His appointment could also have consequences in the media field. During his campaign, Donald Trump threatened to withdraw their broadcasting licenses from the CBS and ABC channels, which he accused of favoring Kamala Harris, very complex procedures which would go through the FCC.
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