Rosenworcel Stepping Down; Carr Declares Agenda

Carr said the agency can use Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to tackle tech censorship. In addition, other Communications Act provisions about transparency could play a role, he added. The censorship cartel has multiple components, including social media companies and their content policies, as well as the government in the form of President Joe Biden's administration pressuring those companies on content. "So-called fact-checkers ... that are essentially narrative checkers" also play a role, as do advertising and marketing entities that help coordinate some boycotts, he said. Carr said the State Department and nongovernmental organizations supported free speech a decade or so ago but have since pivoted. "We are going to take action on all five or six vectors of the censorship cartel to make sure we smash it, eliminate it root and branch."

Media content issues will be another focus, he said. Trust in the news media "is at an all-time low," Carr noted. "Broadcast licenses are not sacred cows" and they carry an obligation under the Communication Act to serve the public interest, he said. Asked whether he envisioned a broad investigation of media, Carr was noncommittal. "There are lots of ideas," he said, adding that the FCC has substantial authority. "There's 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 different levers that apply to the broadcast industry."

Carr said he also intends to focus on issues ranging from permitting to spectrum to commercial space. Licensing and permitting for commercial space operations take too long, Carr argued. Creation of the FCC's Space Bureau was a good start, but "now we have to inject some rocket fuel into that process." Asked about how his FCC administration would handle the agency's current defense in federal court of its latest net neutrality order, Carr said no decision has been made. Carr mentioned that it is particularly important for Congress to restore the FCC's spectrum auction authority and funding for the rip-and-replace program.

Carr, who this week posted on social media photos of himself, President-elect Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk at a SpaceX launch, said he has met with Amazon's Kuiper team. He said no low earth orbit company is particularly important to the U.S., but LEO systems broadly are. Asked about the possibility of restoring SpaceX's participation in the Rural Development Opportunity Fund, Carr said his sense is the issue is dead. Carr was critical of the FCC's rejection of SpaceX's RDOF application (see 2208240049).

He had no comment on the names or timing of a third Republican commissioner.

At Thursday's FCC meeting, the four regular commissioners praised Rosenworcel's legacy, citing it as bipartisan and particularly focused on national security. Carr called it "an exceptional, consequential run." In a statement, Commissioner Anna Gomez cited what she said was Rosenworcel's "astute leadership on critical issues not only as the first woman ever to be confirmed by the Senate to lead the FCC but also as Commissioner." Gomez added that Rosenworcel "focused on consumers, especially those that have been historically left behind and those that are in vulnerable situations, on economic priorities such as the space economy and our digital future, and on national security." Rosenworcel's "impact will be felt by many."

Concerning her legacy, Rosenworcel listed a litany of accomplishments, including creation of the cyber trust mark, establishment of the three-digit 988 number for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, efforts to connect unconnected students, and creation of the Space Bureau. Rosenworcel demurred when asked what she would have liked to get done but likely won't in the time left in her administration.