{"id":51405,"date":"2025-10-22T13:09:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T17:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/?post_type=article&p=51405"},"modified":"2025-10-22T13:12:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T17:12:45","slug":"who-is-trumps-fcc-chair-brendan-carr-5-ways-hes-undermining-free-speech","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/es\/articles\/who-is-trumps-fcc-chair-brendan-carr-5-ways-hes-undermining-free-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Trump\u2019s FCC Chair Brendan Carr? 5 Ways He\u2019s Undermining Free Speech"},"template":"","class_list":["post-51405","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":49144,"article_type":1103,"authors":"","related_issues":[2065,2082,136,2081],"related_work":false,"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is supposed to protect the public interest, making sure our airwaves and media stay fair and open.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has <\/span>abandoned that mission <\/b>in favor of Trump\u2019s authoritarian agenda.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAqu\u00ed est\u00e1n <\/span>five things you need to know about Carr<\/b> and why his actions should alarm anyone who cares about freedom of speech and corporate accountability.<\/span>\r\n

1.He threatened Disney and ABC to silence Jimmy Kimmel.<\/span><\/h3>\r\nCarr crossed a major red line when after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made some critical jokes about Trump on air, he<\/span> publicly threatened Disney<\/b> (ABC\u2019s parent company)<\/span><\/a>: \u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nHours later, Disney pulled Kimmel\u2019s show off the air indefinitely. <\/span>Trump cheered the move, calling it \u201cGreat News for America.\u201d<\/span><\/a>\r\n\r\nCommon Cause members joined concerned Americans across the country to successfully speak out against Carr\u2019s attack, because no government official should be able to silence critics by threatening their employers.\u00a0 In response to the immense pressure, ABC and its affiliates have put Kimmel\u2019s show back on the air.<\/span>\r\n

He literally wrote the Protect 2025 playbook to take over the FCC.<\/span><\/h3>\r\nCarr has been at the FCC for years, but his recent rise to Chairman came directly from Trump. He\u2019s not just there to execute Trump\u2019s agenda \u2013 he actually helped write it. <\/span>Carr authored the section on the FCC in <\/span>Proyecto 2025<\/b><\/a>, the sweeping conservative playbook for stripping away our civil rights and reshaping government.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs FCC chair, he has made going after Trump\u2019s political opponents and the free press a number one priority.<\/span>\r\n

2. He\u2019s weaponizing investigations to go after the press.<\/span><\/h3>\r\nOne of Carr\u2019s jobs as Trump\u2019s FCC chair has been to target media outlets that have been critical of the president. Since Trump took office, <\/span>Carr has opened FCC investigations into every major broadcast network in the nation, with the notable exception of Fox<\/span><\/a>, which is owned by Trump ally Rupert Murdoch.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis has included <\/span>opening an investigation into Disney and ABC this spring in retaliation for adopting DEI policies<\/span><\/a>, as well as <\/span>investigating PBS and NPR,<\/span><\/a> public media outlets that Carr has vocally supported defunding.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThese investigations are <\/span>not about protecting the public interest<\/b> \u2013 they are intended to <\/span>intimidate<\/b> y <\/span>silence<\/b> the members of the press that dare to report stories that are critical of Trump and his administration.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

3. He has leveraged the FCC\u2019s power to help Trump win personal lawsuits.<\/span><\/h3>\r\nEarlier this year, while <\/span>the FCC was reviewing a major merger between CBS\u2019s parent company, Paramount, and Skydance<\/span><\/a>, Trump was locked in a legal fight with CBS over <\/span>60 Minutes.<\/span><\/i> Carr publicly warned that the lawsuit would factor into his decision on the merger<\/span><\/a>\u2014effectively <\/span>threatening<\/b> Paramount to fall in line.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWith the merger\u2019s approval hanging in the air, <\/span>CBS settled with Trump for $16 million<\/span><\/a>, despite <\/span>First Amendment advocates overwhelmingly calling his lawsuit \u201cfrivolous\u201d<\/span><\/a> and many people urging the heads of CBS and Paramount to stand up for their journalists.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nLate night host Stephen Colbert mocked the settlement on air, calling it a <\/span>bribe<\/b> \u2014 <\/span>CBS <\/span>canceled<\/b> The Late Show with Stephen Colbert <\/span><\/i>just days later.<\/span><\/a>\r\n

4. He\u2019s clearing the way for massive media mergers.<\/span><\/h3>\r\nThe FCC has long limited how much of the TV market one company can control. For decades, Republican and Democratic leaders alike have kept the \u201c<\/span>39% rule,<\/b>\u201d which caps how many households one broadcaster can reach.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut now, <\/span>Carr is pushing to weaken or eliminate that rule<\/span><\/a>, opening the door for companies like Nexstar, the nation\u2019s largest TV station owner, to <\/span>swallow up even more of the market<\/b>.<\/span> If Nexstar\u2019s planned takeover of Tegna goes through, <\/span>one company could reach 80% of U.S. households<\/b><\/a>. That\u2019s bad for competition, bad for independent voices, and bad for democracy.<\/span>\r\n

5. Brendan Carr Has Turned the FCC Into a Political Weapon<\/span><\/h3>\r\nCarr\u2019s priorities are clear: he wants to use government power to <\/span>reward allies<\/b>, <\/span>intimidate critics<\/b>, y <\/span>help major corporations grow even bigger<\/b>. Instead of defending free speech and fair competition, he\u2019s turned the FCC into a political weapon.<\/span>\r\n

When public officials bully the press and corporations put profits first, it\u2019s the public that loses. A free and independent media is <\/span>essential to democracy<\/b>, and it\u2019s up to all of us to stand up when those in power try to silence it.<\/span><\/h4>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related_articles","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_related_articles":{"heading":"Updates","button_text":"See all Related Articles","manually_curate":false,"articles":null}}]},"yoast_head":"\nWho is Trump's FCC Chair Brendan Carr? - Common Cause<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are five things you need to know about Brendan Carr and why his actions should alarm anyone who cares about freedom of speech and corporate accountability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/es\/articulos-2\/who-is-trumps-fcc-chair-brendan-carr-5-ways-hes-undermining-free-speech\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who is Trump\u2019s FCC Chair Brendan Carr? 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