Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told us last week that he voted against advancing the Kids Off Social Media Act (S-278) out of the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month (see 2502050052) because he wanted to put a “place marker” down to ensure there’s a broader discussion about the FCC’s E-rate program. S-278 would expand the Children’s Internet Protection Act, an FCC-enforced statute aimed at protecting children’s data in schools and preventing access to harmful online content. “I just wanted to put down my place marker because I am very concerned about E-rate,” Markey said, adding that he has concerns about the Trump administration’s approach to the subsidy program and wants to discuss the “totality” of it.
While the White House increasingly wields tariffs as an economic policy tool, parts of the tech, media and telecom universe see a growing risk of getting enmeshed in trade fights. Some communications technology could be particularly exposed, Telecommunications Industry Association Director-Global Policy Patrick Lozada told us. Broadcasters, meanwhile, are bracing for tariffs that could potentially result in lower advertising spends. SpaceX's temporary loss of a $100 million contract over a U.S./Canada tariff fight also could point to satellite communications getting caught in the thicket of U.S. trade disputes (see 2502060004).
The Senate voted 52-45 along party lines Thursday to invoke cloture on commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, setting up his final confirmation vote for next week. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced Lutnick last week amid opposition from panel Democrats over the nominee’s stance on implementing NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program and other matters (see 2502050052). President Donald Trump formally sent the Senate on Wednesday night his nomination of Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty to the FCC seat former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel vacated Jan. 20 (see 2501160077).
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts said Thursday he led two other Senate Commerce Committee Democrats -- Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Gary Peters of Michigan -- in raising concerns with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington about recent commission actions they see as “weaponizing its authority over broadcasters and public media for political purposes.”
The U.K.’s Office of Communications on Thursday announced a consultation that examines opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, while considering licensed use of part of the spectrum. The Ofcom proposal would provide for low-power indoor (LPI) use across the entire band on a license-exempt basis.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s announcement that the FCC will begin investigating regulatees with diversity, equality and inclusion programs appears to be among the first actions a federal agency has taken to enforce President Donald Trump’s DEI executive order, though the FCC’s authority in this area is unclear, attorneys and academics told us. In his letter Tuesday to Comcast, Carr said the agency plans “broader efforts to root out invidious forms of DEI discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates.”
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday that he expects the White House to focus on getting Americans broadband connections and that as chair, he would have handled the rural digital opportunity fund (RDOF) differently if he had known the BEAD program would follow it.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) on Wednesday slammed the latest executive order from President Donald Trump's administration aimed at cutting the federal workforce. Trump signed the EO Tuesday that said he would require the heads of federal agencies to make "large-scale [staff] reductions.” The continuing assault has sparked anxiety at the FCC and other agencies critical to the communications industry (see 2502070047). Appearing with Elon Musk, Trump told reporters that Musk's Department of Government Efficiency had uncovered billions of dollars in fraud, but he didn’t offer details.
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, other panel Democrats and Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron used a Wednesday hearing aimed at reviewing instances of claimed Biden administration censorship to lambaste Republican FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for ordering a string of investigations against U.S. broadcasters. The probes, launched since Carr took office Jan. 20, thus far focus on broadcasters that have aired content critical of President Donald Trump or otherwise face claims of pro-Democratic Party bias, though Carr has, in some cases, framed the scrutiny as focused on other matters (see 2502110063). House Judiciary Democrats also sharply criticized X owner Elon Musk for actions on the social media platform that they view as censorship of anti-Trump content.
Comcast confirmed Tuesday that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has asked the Enforcement Bureau to launch a probe of its and subsidiary NBCUniversal’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs to determine if they violate equal employment opportunity laws. The move is Carr’s latest foray against U.S. broadcasters, including probes of CBS, NPR and PBS (see 2502050063 and 2501300065), since he became FCC chairman Jan. 20. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., railed against the FCC and other federal agencies Tuesday for collectively “waging a relentless war on online speech and independent journalism” in the weeks since President Donald Trump returned to office last month.