Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr swiftly pointed Sunday night and Monday to enforcing broadcasters’ “public interest obligation” and ending the commission’s “promotion of” diversity, equity and inclusion policies as key parts of his agenda once he becomes chairman Jan. 20. President-elect Donald Trump announced plans Sunday night to make Carr permanent chairman when he takes office (see 2411170001). Some congressional Democrats and public interest groups criticized Carr’s agenda, while many communications policy-focused groups quickly praised the long-expected appointment (see 2407120002).

Commenters disagreed on whether the FCC should require additional disclosures relative to AI calls, in reply comments to an NPRM that commissioners approved 5-0 in August. Consumer and public interest groups urged a smart approach, targeting calls that will most likely confuse consumers. Industry commenters said no new rules are needed now.

President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday night he will name Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr as permanent chairman when he takes office Jan. 20, as expected. Communications sector officials and lobbyists have long pointed to Carr as the prohibitive favorite to take over the gavel if Trump won the election. Carr in part has benefited from strong ties to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who will play a role via Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency in recommending a potentially major structural revamp of federal agencies. Musk recently spoke in favor of Carr’s elevation to the chairmanship in conversations with members of Trump’s team, lobbyists told us.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The NARUC Telecom Committee on Monday cleared draft resolutions on phone number conservation, the Universal Service Fund and utility coordination on broadband deployment. A USF panel that day described how reform could happen with Republicans controlling the FCC and Congress next year. Also, the affordable connectivity program (ACP) could return in 2025 despite Washington’s partisan climate, said Sanford Williams, deputy chief of staff for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, during a collocated National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) meeting. State utility regulators are holding their annual meeting here this week.

The FCC wants oppositions by Nov. 25 concerning multiple pending petitions for reconsideration of the commission's order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Act, said a notice in Friday's Federal Register (see 2411070040). Replies to oppositions to the petitions are due by Dec. 5 in docket 23-62. Stephen Raher, Deaf Equality and TDIAccess, NCIC Communications and HomeWAV filed petitions.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is in prime position to take over the commission’s chairmanship in January following former President Donald Trump’s election to a second term, giving him leeway to make potentially sweeping changes on a range of high-profile communications policy matters, lawyers and other observers said in interviews Wednesday. Carr’s agenda if he becomes chairman is likely to mirror elements of the FCC chapter he wrote for the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 policy agenda (see 2407050015), but he may need to delay non-bipartisan actions until the Senate can confirm a Republican nominee to fill current Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s seat if she resigns, as is tradition, observers told us.

The EPA, not the FCC, is the proper federal agency to coordinate or conduct space environmental protection, National Space Society space regulation and oversight policy lead Grant Henriksen blogged last week. Noting a call by space academic researchers for the FCC to conduct environmental reviews for large constellations of satellites, Henriksen said the commission lacks the expertise for address space activities' environmental impacts and should abstain from regulating non-communications-related undertakings. FCC steps toward environmental regulation would be open to legal attack in a post-Chevron world, creating greater regulatory uncertainty when the U.S. commercial space sector "already faces numerous challenges on that front." He said the EPA can address risks to the atmosphere from increased rocket launches and reentries.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday filed a $10 billion lawsuit complaint against CBS that quotes FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington supporting allegations that the network deceived its audience when it edited an answer in an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats' presidential nominee. Meanwhile, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on Friday said a future FCC chair in a second Trump administration would likely face considerable pressure to act against media outlets. During a Center for American Progress webinar, Wheeler said a Trump appointee could encounter a situation that no FCC chairman has "faced in the 90-year history of the commission.”

A three-judge appeals court panel hearing a challenge (docket 24-7000) of the FCC's Title II reclassification of broadband questioned industry groups and the agency Thursday about the major questions doctrine (see 2409030030). Oral argument was held at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where judges also questioned the relationship between the doctrine and Chevron deference, as well as the statutory interpretation of the Communications Act and the FCC's changing positions over time.

The FCC's proposed rewrite of its submarine cable rules could put a variety of cybersecurity requirements on operators and bar them from using equipment or services on the agency's Covered List. The NPRM on the agency's Nov. 14 open meeting agenda also proposes significantly shortening cable landing licenses, from 25 years to three. Also on the agenda is a codification of many temporary provisions for authorization of geotargeted radio using program-originating FM boosters and a draft order on the caller ID authentication process aimed at further tackling unlawfully spoofed robocalls. The agenda items (see 2410300033) were made public Thursday.