FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has called out Big Tech companies for allegedly participating in a “censorship cartel” that suppresses free speech. His remarks coincide with changing media habits, as platforms like X gain users while traditional news networks face declining viewership.
Carr, seen as a contender to lead the FCC under President-elect Donald Trump, addressed an open letter to executives from Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Meta. In the letter, he accused the companies of working with organizations like NewsGuard to enforce biased narratives and stifle dissenting voices.
“Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft & others have played central roles in the censorship cartel,” Carr wrote. He criticized NewsGuard for its influence on advertising decisions and its alleged bias against conservative-leaning outlets.
Carr’s letter referenced findings from the Twitter Files, which revealed collaborations between tech platforms and external organizations to monitor and control online speech. He also pointed to a U.S. House Committee on Small Business report that accused NewsGuard of unfairly selecting “winners and losers” in the media space.
The commissioner highlighted specific examples of NewsGuard’s alleged bias, including its favorable ratings for Chinese propaganda compared to American sources and its targeting of reports on the COVID-19 lab leak theory. He also noted that a NewsGuard advisory board member had signed a 2020 letter falsely labeling the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation.
To ensure transparency, Carr requested that Big Tech companies provide details on all services and partnerships involving NewsGuard or similar organizations by December 10. He emphasized that accountability is crucial for protecting free speech.
“The censorship cartel is an affront to Americans’ constitutional freedoms and must be completely dismantled,” Carr wrote. He reiterated that freedom of expression is essential to democracy and called on Big Tech to prioritize First Amendment rights over ideological enforcement.
