Incoming Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has demanded answers from Big Tech firms about their involvement in what he described as a “censorship cartel” to suppress speech with which they disagree.
care-who President-elect Trump on Sunday announced her as his choice, dubbing him a “warrior for free speech” Sent letters to Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook to lead the agency.
The letters were written on November 13, days before Trump revealed his promotion from the senior Republican commissioner of the FCC to permanent chairman.
Republicans had specifically sought information about the firms’ dealings with NewsGuard – a for-profit “fact-checking” firm that is reportedly running against congressional Republicans to target conservative outlets. By labeling them more “risky” than liberal outlets.,
“Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and others have played central roles in the censorship cartel,” Carr wrote in an X post With the letter last Friday. “Orwellian ‘fact checking’ groups called NewsGuard and advertising agencies teamed up to help enforce one-sided narratives.”
Big Tech executives were asked to respond to the FCC by December 10 on which of their products or services partner with NewsGuard and whether they require online customers to trust NewsGuard when using their services.
Carr’s investigation could have an impact on the future of Section 230 – the controversial statute that protects companies from being liable for third-party content posted on their platforms.
In his letter, Carr wrote that Section 230 protections only apply if companies are acting “in good faith.”
Refers to a Trump appointee. An “ongoing investigation” by the House Oversight Committee. In Newsguard.
NewsGuard’s advisory board consists of at least one member “Signed the now infamous October 2020 letter Former intelligence community officials criticized the false claim that the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation – a letter that itself prompted a wave of censorship,” Carr said.
NewsGuard denied wrongdoing and emphasized Carr’s letter in a lengthy statement, saying that her work “does not involve censorship or blocking of speech of any kind.”
“The main claims made about Newsguard in the letter are false, citing unreliable sources,” NewsGuard said in a statement.
For companies like Google and Meta that also provide advertising services, Carr is also seeking information about whether they use NewsGuard or any other “media monitor or fact checking service” as part of their dealings with clients. Let’s use.
Carr alleged that Big Tech companies, in collusion with so-called media monitors, were involved in an effort to “discredit, demonize, and otherwise exclude commercial news outlets and organizations that dare to deviate from the accepted narrative.”
“This censorship cartel is an affront to the constitutional liberties of Americans and must be ended completely,” Carr said in the letter. Americans must be able to reclaim their right to free speech.
Meta declined to comment on Carr’s letter, but the company pointed out that NewsGuard is not one of its fact-checking partners.
in August, Zuckerberg acknowledged in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee That “senior Biden administration officials, including the White House, repeatedly pressured Meta to “censor” content related to the coronavirus pandemic in 2021.”
Zuckerberg said he now thinks it was a mistake that Facebook suppressed The Post’s exclusive reporting about Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020.
Representatives for Google, Microsoft and Apple did not immediately return The Post’s requests for comment.
Carr was first appointed as FCC Commissioner in 2017 during Trump’s first term in office. His current tenure is till 2029.
“Commissioner Carr is a crusader for free speech, and he has fought against deregulatory legislation that restricts Americans’ freedoms and stifles our economy,” Trump said in a statement upon his selection as chairman.
“He will end the regulatory assault that cripples America’s job creators and innovators, and ensure that the FCC works for rural America.”
Carr caused a stir ahead of the 2024 election when he publicly described NBC’s decision to allow Vice President Kamala Harris to appear on “Saturday Night Live” as a “clear and blatant effort” to avoid the equal time rule. Was rejected as.
