FCC Confirms Free Speech Requires Government Approval
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr defended his pressure campaign against ABC on Friday, explaining that the First Amendment works best when broadcasters freely choose between praising President Donald Trump and enjoying an unexpected federal license review. Carr told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo that television stations use public airwaves and therefore must operate in the “public interest,” a flexible legal standard now defined as whatever prevents Trump from encountering criticism before breakfast. Under Carr’s interpretation, the government cannot censor broadcasters, but it may stand beside the broadcast license, tap its watch and ask whether another Jimmy Kimmel joke is really worth the paperwork.
The FCC ordered eight ABC-owned stations to pursue unusually early license renewals in April while examining whether “The View” still qualifies for a news-program exemption from equal-time requirements. ABC has argued that the actions amount to retaliation over political content disliked by the administration. Carr rejected that characterization because retaliation becomes ordinary regulation once it is assigned a docket number, circulated among attorneys and described as concern for local communities. More than 140,000 public comments were submitted, with over 95% reportedly supporting ABC’s position, a result regulators cited as evidence that the network may have recklessly encouraged Americans to form opinions without consulting the executive branch.
Trump praised Carr for protecting voluntary, government-supervised expression from the dangers of unsupervised expression. “Nobody believes in free speech more strongly than I do, and everybody should be allowed to say whatever they want, provided it is fair, accurate and extremely positive about me,” Trump said, outlining the nation’s newly simplified constitutional doctrine. Administration officials emphasized that broadcasters remain free to criticize the president, lose regulatory favor, undergo additional scrutiny and explain themselves repeatedly to federal agencies in any order they choose. The FCC said this arrangement preserves editorial independence because no station is technically required to flatter Trump; stations are merely invited to calculate how much independence they can afford. American broadcasters therefore remain completely free to speak, so long as the government approves what they say.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.