Politics
NEW: FCC Opens Investigation Into Verizon Over DEI Practices
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr has opened a new investigation into “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) policies at Verizon. Carr also pointed to the company’s efforts to acquire Frontier Communications as a primary point of concern.
Carr, who was appointed by President Trump to lead the agency just last month, expressed concern over the company’s promotion of DEI initiatives and policies. Verizonis currently seeking FCC approval in its bid to acquire Frontier for $9.6 billion. “In order to aid the FCC’s resolution of these matters, please reach out to the agency personnel that have been working on Verizon’s pending transactions at the FCC,” Carr wrote. “They are the FCC personnel most familiar with Verizon’s operations due to their merger review activity.”
In response, Verizon stated that, “we are aware of the chairman’s concerns. We look forward to engaging with the FCC staff on this issue. Verizon has always focused on having the best talent to deliver the best experiences to our customers.”
Earlier this month, Carr opened a similar probe into another communications giant, Comcast, over similar DEI concerns. In a letter addressed to the company, the chairman stated that the FCC would take “fresh action to ensure that every entity the FCC regulates complies with the civil rights protections enshrined in the Communications Act… including by shutting down any programs that promote invidious forms of DEI.”
Brendan Carr discusses public broadcasting regulations in a September interview with Fox News.
Carr’s latest actions fall in line with the president’s executive orders that banned DEI practices and trainings at the federal level. This has led to hundreds of layoffs among DEI “consultants” and executives as part of the Trump Administration’s wider effort to cut spending.
Carr, who was initially appointed to the commission during Trump’s first term, has laid out a number of steps the FCC can take to reign in political bias and what he refers to as the “censorship regime.” He has previously backed the idea of withholding federal broadcasting licenses from media giants such as CBS News, which was recently caught in a massive scandal involving edited clips in the network’s “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Since taking office, Carr has taken action against NPR and PBS, both of which receive taxpayer funding, over their promotion of DEI policies. PBS has already complied with Carr’s directives, while NPR has been attempting to hold out.
“You know, for me, first thing is get with President Trump and his team and make sure I understand100 percent what their agenda is after all he’s the one that was elected. It’s his cabinet, his administration to reflect his priorities,” Carr told Fox News before taking office.
“But as you noted, combatting big tech censorship is going to be one of the top priorities for me. You need to restore Americans right to free speech, and you mentioned Facebook and other companies, they’ve been part of a censorship cartel that has worked with advertisers, they’ve worked with government officials to censor the free speech rights of everyday Americans.”
