President-elect Trump has tapped Brendan Carr to be the next chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), teeing the agency up for a likely clash with Big Tech and media companies he has accused of “censoring” conservative views.
The FCC is an independent agency regulating TV and radio broadcasters, telephone and internet service providers and satellites.
Carr, an FCC commissioner since 2017, could try to usher in drastic change to the agency when it comes to tech and broadcast companies’ freedoms, experts said.
Here’s what to know about Carr.
More than a decade of FCC experience
Carr’s journey at the FCC began more than 10 years ago in 2012 as a staffer. He served as a legal adviser for former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, a Republican, for three years until 2017, when he became the agency’s general counsel.
Trump appointed Carr to be a commissioner in 2017, and he was nominated again by President Biden to a term running through 2029. The FCC can have no more than three members of one political party under federal law.
Carr gained an online following in recent years, using social media to voice his concerns with the Biden administration’s policies and discuss alternative proposals to pursue under a Republican administration.
Trump on Sunday said Carr has “fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms and held back our Economy.”
“He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America,” he added.
The commissioner worked closely with Pai during the former chair’s push to roll back net neutrality rules, which forced principal internet service providers to treat all information that travels through their networks equally.
The rules, first approved in 2015, were repealed under Pai’s leadership in 2017. The commission voted earlier this year to restore the rules under the leadership of Democratic FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.
Should Rosenworcel step down, as is customary when a president of the opposite party takes over,........