The FCC lacks authority to impose new Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (Calm) Act requirements on current licensees or extend the rules to streaming services, said industry commenters in filings in docket 25-72, which were due Thursday. A nonprofit dedicated to fighting noise pollution and the Hearing Loss Association of America wrote in support of tougher FCC Calm Act enforcement, while NAB, NCTA and the Streaming Innovation Alliance (SIA) opposed any further ad loudness rules. “The Commission cannot -- and should not -- alter the CALM Act technical standards or impose new obligations,” NCTA said.
The FCC and FTC are moving toward trying to rein in what they see as overly broad applications of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and to reverse what their agency leaders call censorship by social media platforms. Agency watchers said they expect the FCC to issue an advisory opinion soon, though some see such an opinion as more performative than practical. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has repeatedly said that addressing "the censorship cartel" is one of the agency's priorities (see 2411210028). His office and the FTC didn't comment. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez has been critical of the possibility of a Section 230 advisory opinion (see 2502240062).
A White House executive order that says agencies can dispense with notice-and-comment requirements when repealing some rules is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the FCC because Chairman Brendan Carr has at his disposal many traditional ways of deleting rules, academics, industry lobbyists and attorneys said in interviews. Along with the order on notice and comment, the White House also released an order requiring agencies to scuttle “anti-competitive” regulations and another repealing showerhead measures that could affect how agencies justify decisions.
The FCC should use a still-open 2017 proceeding to eliminate the national ownership cap, NAB said in a letter to the agency Wednesday. The rule bars any single TV broadcaster from owning stations that, as a group, reach more than 39% of the total number of U.S. TV households. “This outmoded rule prevents broadcasters -- but not any other video service providers -- from competing for audiences and vital advertising revenues across the county,” NAB said.
President Donald Trump’s executive order putting independent regulatory agencies under greater White House control (see 2502190075) should result in stronger regulatory analysis by those agencies and better evidence supporting their arguments, said George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center Director Susan Dudley. Speaking Wednesday at an administrative law panel discussion by the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Program of Regulation, Dudley said the order also should lead to those independent agencies better coordinating their work across the government.
The FCC’s “In Re: Delete Delete Delete” proceeding could draw a huge number of response filings and is expected to require numerous subsequent rulemakings to lead to actual changes, said industry officials and academics. “Every single regulated entity will sit on Santa's lap and ask for presents,” said TechFreedom Senior Counsel Jim Dunstan. “It will take months just to sift through all the asks and determine how to proceed.”
The FCC is calling for suggestions on which of its rules should be eliminated in a docket (25-133) called “In re: Delete, Delete, Delete,” the agency announced in a news release and public notice Wednesday. “The FCC is committed to ending all of the rules and regulations that are no longer necessary. And we welcome the public’s participation and feedback throughout this process,” said Chairman Brendan Carr in the release. “For too long, administrative agencies have added new regulatory requirements in excess of their authority or kept lawful regulations in place long after their shelf life had expired.” The effort is linked to White House executive orders on deregulation and the Department of Government Efficiency, the release said. “We are seeking public input on identifying FCC rules for the purpose of alleviating unnecessary regulatory burdens,” the public notice said.
The National Consumer Law Center and Public Justice made their case Monday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an en banc hearing of the court’s decision on a 2023 FCC robocall and robotext order (see 2501240068). Intervenors sought permission to intervene when it became clear the U.S. government wouldn't defend the order (see 2502200004). A key issue before judges was the one-to-one robotext consent provisions in the 2023 order.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday that staffing changes are coming to the FCC and that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is likely headed to the agency. Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez warned about the Donald Trump administration’s continuing moves against the federal workforce. Commissioners agreed on three wireless items (see 2502270042) and Calm Act rules at the meeting, as well as taking additional steps on robocalls.
An FCC advisory opinion on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act would be “a fool's errand” and should be “DOA,” Commissioner Anna Gomez said Sunday in a thread on X responding to a New York Post report that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is planning to act on 230 soon. “The FCC should not be in the business of controlling online speech,” Gomez said. “Congress and the courts must quickly step in to stop this unlawful power grab.”