Trump wants to make staunch opponent of large IT companies head of the FCC

US President-elect Donald Trump wants to appoint Brendan Carr, a staunch opponent of large IT companies, as head of the US telecommunications regulator FCC. He made this public via his account on his social network Truth Social, describing Carr as a "fighter for freedom of expression". He is referring to the belief that the major internet platforms are deliberately suppressing statements and accounts linked to the Republican Party. Carr also immediately described himself as "humbled and honored" by the announced appointment and immediately added that "the censorship cartel must be dismantled" and "the free speech rights of Americans must be restored".

Confrontation with the industry

Carr has been a member of the FCC Commission since Donald Trump's first term in office. The authority itself explains that in this role he has contributed to the modernization of infrastructure rules and the acceleration of the expansion of high-speed networks. In addition, reforms introduced by him have led to a reduction in bureaucracy worth billions of US dollars. According to a report in the New York Times, the busy US billionaire and future government advisor Elon Musk is also said to have spoken out in favor of Carr's appointment. Trump stated that Carr had "fought against the regulations that have suppressed the freedoms of Americans and slowed down our economy". He would put an end to the jumble of regulations that paralyze innovators.

According to the Washington Post, Carr had already begun to fulfill his new role before Trump's announcement. He sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook, Instagram), Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai from Alphabet (Google), warning them that their companies were inappropriately censoring some views. People in the US have experienced an unprecedented rise in censorship and "their companies have played a major role in this unacceptable behavior", the US newspaper quotes. Carr is also considered a staunch opponent of TikTok and supports the plans for a ban.

Carr also has television broadcasters in his sights. The FCC also issues broadcasting licenses for radio and television in the US, among other things. During the election campaign, Trump repeatedly threatened to take action against political opponents if he won the election, to appoint special investigators against them, to indict them and even put them in prison – including journalists. He regularly refers to the media as "enemies of the people" and wants to revoke the licenses of disagreeable broadcasters.

(mho)