By Bill Alpert
One of the first agency chiefs to take office under the coming Trump administration could be Brendan Carr at the Federal Communications Commission.
Trump tapped the conservative on Sunday to chair the agency. The appointment doesn't require the Senate's approval because Carr has been an FCC commissioner since 2017.
That means Carr can quickly act on his stated aim of reining in big tech platforms that conservatives say are biased against right-wing content.
Meta Platforms, Facebook's parent company, and Alphabet, Google's owner, may well be gathering lawyers Monday morning to evaluate Carr's chapter in the conservative manifesto Project 2025. There, he urges an end to federal rules that shield internet platforms from libel suits over content posted by users.
He supported the first Trump administration's move to scrap "net neutrality" regulations that prevent telecom companies providers from blocking websites or charging them premium rates to deliver content, such as video, that uses a lot of bandwidth. A repeal could open new revenue opportunities for telecom companies like AT&T and Comcast.
Conversely, Carr's Project 2025 essay demands that the platforms justify decisions to remove content that the companies deem a threat to public safety. Conservatives feel they have suffered unfairly from such takedowns, as do those who have spoken against vaccination for Covid-19 and other diseases. That is a complaint that will also be taken up by Robert Kennedy Jr. if Trump succeeds in placing him in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.
At the FCC, Carr has joined the other commissioners in championing 5G cellular service and the expansion of high-speed internet service to rural America. In the service of those objectives, Carr could use his Republican majority on the commission to advance projects of Trump ally Elon Musk.
The Starlink satellite internet unit of Musk's SpaceX was awarded $885 million in 2020 under a federal program to extend internet coverage to rural areas, but the award was revoked in 2022 under the Biden administration. Carr condemned that action, and now can reverse it.
SpaceX has had mixed success in winning FCC approval for expansions to Starlink's services, which other telecom companies have said might interfere with their transmissions. Musk's satellite venture says its proposals will bring consumers better broadband and cellular phone service.
Carr may be inclined to agree.
Write to Bill Alpert at william.alpert@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 18, 2024 10:19 ET (15:19 GMT)
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