Starks: FCC's DEI Investigation Is 'Out of Our Lane'
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s plan to investigate agency regulatees over diversity, equity and inclusion programs causes Commissioner Geoffrey Starks “grave concern,” he said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “From what I know, this enforcement action is out of our lane…
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and out of our reach,” Starks said. “I have asked for a briefing to understand the Enforcement Bureau’s theory of the case, the authority relied upon, and any prior precedent.” In a letter Tuesday to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Carr said the FCC “will be taking fresh action to ensure that every entity the FCC regulates complies with the civil rights protections enshrined in the Communications Act and the agency’s [equal employment opportunity] rules, including by shutting down any programs that promote invidious forms of DEI discrimination.” Starks pointed out that as a commissioner, Carr excoriated the prior FCC’s digital discrimination proceeding as “a framework that gives the FCC a nearly limitless power to veto private sector decisions.” At the time, Carr said the FCC’s restrictions on digital discrimination were “motivated by an ideology of government control that is not compatible with the fundamental precepts of free market capitalism.” In a post Wednesday on X, he said, “I expect that every entity the FCC regulates will be complying with our civil rights laws.”