The chair of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licences after US President Donald Trump criticised their coverage of the US-Israel war with Iran.
Brendan Carr told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that broadcasters’ licences were not a “property right” and warned they can be revoked if stations did not serve the public interest.
Carr’s threat came after he accused broadcasters of “running hoaxes and news distortions”, saying they can still “correct course” before their licence renewals.
Some Democratic lawmakers called Carr’s comments unconstitutional. The FCC issues licences to indivdual broadcast stations, but does not licence TV networks.
“People have gotten used to the idea that, you know, licences are some sort of property right, and there’s nothing you can do that can result in losing their licence,” Carr told CBS News.
“I try to sort of help reorient people that, no, there is a public interest, and broadcast is different.”
The FCC – the country’s broadcast media watchdog – regulates radio, TV and satellite airwaves, giving it power over a range of matters, including mergers and decency complaints.
On Saturday, Carr responded to a social media post from Trump in which the US president said “Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media actually want us to lose the War”.
Carr wrote: “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licences if they do not.”
Democratic lawmakers criticised Carr’s threats as unconstitutional.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote that it was illegal “for the government to censor free speech it just doesn’t like about Trump’s Iran war”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called Carr’s threat “flagrantly unconstitutional”, while Senator Mark Kelly wrote: “This is overreach by the FCC because this administration doesn’t like the microscope and doesn’t want to be held accountable.”
Carr has been at the centre of the Trump administration’s fight against TV broadcasters that Trump has disagreed with.
The FCC chair called for TV presenter Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension after the ABC late-night host criticised Trump and Republicans for their reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel’s show was taken off the air but returned six days later.
Trump has also frequently targeted news outlets over treatment he believes is biased against him, including lawsuits against the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and others.
The FCC, an independent agency, issues eight-year licences to broadcast stations, many of which are owned and operated by television networks. It does not licence TV networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox.
The FCC says on its website that the “First Amendment and the Communications Act expressly prohibit the Commission from censoring broadcast matter”.
It also states that the commission’s role in overseeing content on the air waves was “very limited”.
The FCC’s authority over content standards is limited to broadcasts on television and radio, and does not include cable networks or streaming platforms.
By BBC News
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