FCC

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr said on right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson’s show in September. Carr was leaning hard on ABC affiliates after Jimmy Kimmel made a slightly poor taste, but hardly out-of-bounds, comment about MAGA’s relationship to Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson. Carr then laid out his FCC doctrine quite clearly. “Companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel,” he said, “or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” In other words: nice TV channel you have there. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it. Carr didn’t try to hide what he was doing or saying, and people were alarmed.

A new proposal from Senator Michael Bennet would effectively put unelected bureaucrats in charge of Big Tech. Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, sees a suggested five-member panel, called the Federal Digital Platform Commission, as a needed brake on the growth and reach of technology companies. “Although the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have done admirable work to enforce existing antitrust and consumer protection laws, they lack the expert staff, resources, and tech-oriented culture necessary for robust and sustained oversight,” Bennet remarked. “Both bodies to date have acted reactively to challenges raised by Big Tech, when proactive, long-term rules are needed.