Democrats Want To Censor Newsrooms

Media Contact:

Benjamin Arden, (202) 418-0288 

Benjamin.Arden@fcc.gov 

For Immediate Release

FCC Commissioner Carr Responds to Democrats’ Efforts to Censor Newsrooms

WASHINGTON, DC, February 22, 2021—Today, two senior Democrats on the House Energy and 

Commerce Committee targeted the newsroom decisions of a handful of media outlets. They did so by 

sending letters to twelve cable providers and other companies that carry these outlets. FCC 

Commissioner Brendan Carr provided the following response: 

“Today, two senior Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee selectively targeted a 

handful of news media outlets for their coverage of political events. By writing letters to the cable 

providers and other regulated entities that carry these news media outlets, the Democrats are sending a 

message that is as clear as it is troubling—these regulated entities will pay a price if the targeted 

newsrooms do not conform to Democrats’ preferred political narratives. This is a chilling transgression 

of the free speech rights that every media outlet in this country enjoys.

“Debate on matters of public interest should be robust, uninhibited, and wide open. More speech is better 

than less. Yet the concerted effort by Democrats to drive political dissent from the public square 

represents a marked departure from these First Amendment norms. A newsroom’s decision about what 

stories to cover and how to frame them should be beyond the reach of any government official, not 

targeted by them.

“To the House Democrats that used their official letterhead to launch this inquiry, I would say this: Your 

demand to know the ‘moral principles’ that guide a private entity’s decision about what news to carry 

cannot be reconciled with bedrock principles of free speech and journalistic freedom.

“I call on my FCC colleagues to join me in publicly denouncing this attempt to stifle political speech and 

independent news judgment.”

###

Office of Commissioner Brendan Carr: (202) 418-2200

www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/brendan-carr

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx