Government pressure on media, as previously criticized by the FCC chair as a 'chilling transgression of free speech,' is now a role he himself is enacting.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr has been vocal in his criticism of politicos and media companies, denouncing efforts to lean on TV providers and social media platforms as censorship.
In a series of tweets and public statements, Carr has repeatedly referred to freedom of speech as the 'bedrock of democracy' and cast political censorship as a tool used to suppress dissent. This stance was evident in his response to Jimmy Kimmel's controversial comments about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September 2025. Carr publicly criticized Kimmel, calling his behavior 'some of the sickest acts ever' and threatening possible regulatory action.
Carr's stance on free speech is not new. In February 2020, he wrote that removing a manipulated video of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Twitter was a brazen attempt by government officials to silence political speech they don't like. He has historically advocated for free speech and against government regulation of social media and misinformation.
In December 2022, Carr wrote that free speech is essential to challenge the 'orthodoxy of the moment.' He defended political satire as 'one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech,' in response to calls to remove deep fake images of 2020 presidential candidates.
In early 2021, Carr warned that even informal political pressure could amount to censorship. This warning came after a group of lawmakers questioned cable and streaming providers about their decision to carry certain news networks, specifically Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN. Carr criticized the Democrats for their letters to cable and streaming providers, stating it was a chilling transgression of free speech rights.
Carr's actions stand in contrast to his long-standing defense of political speech from government pressure. In 2024, he tweeted that if a social media company gets pressured by a government official to censor protected speech, the company should publicly and quickly disclose the request, and there should be accountability for politicos that jawboned social media companies into censoring Americans' protected speech.
Recently, Carr suggested that Disney and ABC executives could deal with Jimmy Kimmel 'The easy or the hard way,' implying potential regulatory action from the FCC if Kimmel's on-air remarks about a murdered conservative activist were not addressed. Hours later, Kimmel's ABC show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' was suspended indefinitely from the air.
As the Republican chairman of the FCC, appointed in 2017, Carr's stance on free speech and political censorship continues to shape the regulatory landscape for media companies and social media platforms in the United States.
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