Wheeler: FCC Should Clarify Public Interest Standard
Addressing the FCC’s recent enforcement actions against broadcast networks, former Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Wednesday that the commission should move quickly on current Chairman Brendan Carr’s proposal for a proceeding on the meaning of the FCC’s public interest…
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standard (see 2412060067) so that boundaries are clear. In an article for the Brookings Institution, Wheeler said using “ill-defined government policy as a tool of political coercion is something that is historically associated with authoritarian governments.” The public interest proceeding would not only help eliminate the vagueness that plagues the chairman’s current interpretation, but it would also identify how he would enforce the rules when applied to broadcasters "that are much more one-sided in their support of [President Donald Trump's] policies,” Wheeler said. The proceeding should include a proposed definition from Carr, followed by an open public debate and an FCC vote, he said. The FCC chair’s power "to interpret the vague public interest doctrine invites its politicization,” he said. “Simply rattling the chairman’s saber can have a chilling effect on editorial and business decisions.”