Posts

‘Fake News’: FCC Chair Warns Broadcasters To ‘Operate In The Public Interest’ Or Risk Loss Of License; FCC Warns Broadcasters over Iran War Coverage

/4 Comments/in , , /by

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned media outlets Saturday that they may lose their broadcast licenses if they insist on running “fake news” content.

Carr wrote in an X post he was giving broadcasters who were “running hoaxes and news distortions ‐ also known as the fake news” the chance to “correct course before their license renewals come up.” His warning came in response to a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump slamming “the Fake News Media” for what he called an “intentionally misleading headline” about U.S. Air Force planes reportedly hit by an Iranian missile strike.

“The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not,” the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman wrote in his post. “And frankly, changing course is in their own business interests since trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all time low of just 9% and are ratings disasters.”

The FCC chief was likely citing a Gallup survey released in September 2020 which showed that only nine percent of U.S. adults had “a great deal” of trust in mass media to report “the news fully, accurately and fairly.”

“The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves,” Carr continued. “It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news.”

(Read more from “‘Fake News’: FCC Chair Warns Broadcasters To ‘Operate In The Public Interest’ Or Risk Loss Of License” HERE)

_____________________________________________________

FCC warns broadcasters over Iran War coverage

By Salon. As the war between the United States and Iran enters its third week, a new front in the conflict is emerging at home: a battle over how the war is covered by the media.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters this week that news outlets must accurately report on the war or risk regulatory scrutiny tied to their broadcast licenses. The remarks came after Donald Trump accused major media organizations of misleading the public about the administration’s military campaign against Iran.

Carr said broadcasters operate under a legal obligation to serve the “public interest” and suggested that networks spreading what he characterized as inaccurate reporting about the war could face consequences when their licenses come up for renewal.

The warning followed a series of posts by Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social, where the president told supporters that coverage of the war was “wrong” and urged Americans not to believe reports circulating in the press. Trump has repeatedly accused news outlets of distorting details about the scope and effectiveness of U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.

Press freedom advocates and media analysts quickly raised concerns that the comments could signal government pressure on news organizations during wartime. (Read more from “FCC warns broadcasters over Iran War coverage” HEREc)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

FCC Commissioner Seeking Investigation Into Allegation CBS Distorted Harris’ ’60 Minutes’ Interview

/0 Comments/in , /by

A member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has asked the body’s chair to take up a complaint filed with the FCC to compel CBS to release the full transcript from its “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Daily Caller News Foundation learned first.

CBS aired two different broadcasts with separate answers from Harris in response to the same question from “60 Minutes” interviewer Bill Whitaker on whether Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “listening” to the Biden-Harris administration. FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington told the DCNF that while the commission often receives frivolous complaints alleging news distortion, the complaint lodged on Oct. 16 by the Center for American Rights (CAR) against WCBS, CBS’ New York subsidiary, is substantively different and should not be dismissed at face value.

(Read more from “FCC Commissioner Seeking Investigation Into Allegation CBS Distorted Harris’ ’60 Minutes’ Interview” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Sam Smith, Kim Petras’ ‘Unholy’ Grammy Performance Sparks FCC Complaints

/0 Comments/in , /by

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ controversial Grammys performance was slapped with a myriad of FCC complaints, according to a report.

The duo sent temperatures rising while performing their chart-topping song “Unholy” during the 65th Grammy Awards. The risqué rendition saw both singers and their backup dancers clad in blood-red devil-esque costumes.

After Smith and Petras raised eyebrows with their creative choices, TMZ reported outraged viewers filed complaints against CBS and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The outlet obtained 18 complaints filed with the FCC, with most of them slamming the performance for its “glorification” of Satan.

During the performance, Smith, 30, was clad in red leather and donned a hat with horns protruding from it — evoking comparisons to the devil. (Read more from “Sam Smith, Kim Petras’ ‘Unholy’ Grammy Performance Sparks FCC Complaints” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

U.S. Bans Chinese Tech That Allegedly Lets China Spy on Military Sites

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday announced a ban on new imports of Chinese-owned telecommunications equipment, including the equipment suspected of surveilling sensitive U.S. military sites.

The new rules, prohibiting U.S. sales and imports of equipment from companies including Huawei and ZTE, are the first to be implemented on the grounds they pose “unacceptable risk to national security,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Friday. U.S. authorities have expressed concerns that Beijing could exploit the companies’ telecommunications installations across the country to collect data from U.S. sites, including nuclear and military sites in the U.S.

“While we’ve flagged equipment as posing a national security risk, prohibited companies from using federal funds to purchase them, and even stood up programs to replace them, for the last several years the FCC has continued to put its stamp of approval on this equipment through its equipment authorization process,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.

“But that does not make any sense,” she added.

The FCC’s new regulations prohibit authorization of any new equipment from companies already listed on an existing log of communications and services that the FCC determines pose an “unacceptable” national security threat, and includes Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua. (Read more from “U.S. Bans Chinese Tech That Allegedly Lets China Spy on Military Sites” HERE)

Delete Facebook, Delete Twitter, Follow Restoring Liberty and Joe Miller at gab HERE.

FCC Asked to Revoke China Telecom’s Authorization to Operate in U.S.

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Federal Communications Commission has been asked by a coalition of executive branch agencies to “revoke and terminate” China Telecom Corp.’s permissions to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.

The company, a U.S. subsidiary of a state-owned company in the People’s Republic of China, has been under review of the Department of Justice.

It based the recommendation on changes that have developed since the permission previously was granted in 2007, including the company’s failure to follow a previous agreement with the federal department, according to officials with the Department of Justice.

“Today, more than ever, the life of the nation and its people runs on our telecommunications networks,” said John C. Demers, assistant attorney general for National Security. “The security of our government and professional communications, as well as of our most private data, depends on our use of trusted partners from nations that share our values and our aspirations for humanity. Today’s action is but our next step in ensuring the integrity of America’s telecommunications systems.”

The executive branch agencies cited “substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s operations.” (Read more from “FCC Asked to Revoke China Telecom’s Authorization to Operate in U.S.” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Repeal of Obama-Era ‘Net Neutrality’ Means ‘Free, Open Internet’

/0 Comments/in , /by

On Dec. 14, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to roll back Obama-era Internet regulations, a move that one commissioner tells WND and Radio America will reinvigorate broadband innovation and reduce the government’s influence over the Internet while keeping important consumer protections in place.

“We have five commissioners at the FCC. Each commissioner gets to cast their own vote their own way. I’ll be voting ‘yes’ in favor of this plan. So we should know right then as soon as the gavel strikes where the votes are and the public will get to see it,” said Brendan Carr, who was nominated to the FCC by President Trump earlier this year. He was confirmed and sworn in to his post in August.

The FCC effort is in response to a 2015 decision to apply Title II of the 1934 Communications Act to the Internet. Democratic appointees controlled the panel at the time and made the changes out of fears that Internet service providers, or ISPs, would soon be in a position to demand the purchase of services at whatever prices they wished.

Known as Net neutrality, Carr said the new rules badly misapplied laws designed to address telephone service and actually wound up with the federal government micromanaging the Internet and its providers.

“[Title II] arises from the 1930s and was designed to regulate the Ma Bell telephone monopoly,” Carr explained. “It’s not designed to regulate a fast-moving, competitive marketplace. Pursuant to that re-classification, it then adopted a series of open Internet rules.” (Read more from “Repeal of Obama-Era ‘Net Neutrality’ Means ‘Free, Open Internet'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Trump’s FCC Chairman Hammers Twitter, Facebook for Censorship, Viewpoint Discrimination Against Conservatives

/0 Comments/in , /by

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is going on the offensive against tech companies in an effort to make his case for repealing net neutrality rules.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday accused Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) and other tech companies of being disingenuous by arguing for a free and open internet while they “routinely block or discriminate against content they don’t like.”

The remarks came as part of a speech on his recently revealed plan to unravel Obama-era net neutrality protections at a telecom policy event in Washington DC. The 2015 rules were intended to keep the internet open and fair by preventing broadband providers from playing favorites with online content . . .

Pai, a Republican commissioner appointed to head the agency by President Trump, specifically called out Twitter for appearing to have a “double standard when it comes to suspending or de-verifying conservative users’ accounts as opposed to those of liberal users. (Read more from “Trump’s FCC Chairman Accuses Twitter of Silencing Conservatives” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

SHOCK: Senate to Vote on Letting Democrats Keep Control of the FCC

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Multiple sources confirm that the nightmare scenario identified by ATR is indeed likely to occur: Senate Democrats have picked off enough Republicans to force a vote next week on reconfirming Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel to the FCC, resulting in at best an initial 2-2 deadlock on the committee if Tom Wheeler, the current chairman, follows precedent and resigns, leaving only four commissioners at the FCC until another is confirmed. That would delay action on President Trump’s job creation agenda at the agency, which is bad enough.

But there is an even more disturbing possibility: If Wheeler follows through on his threat not to resign, it would mean Democrats would retain control of the FCC well into Trump’s presidency.

The FCC is a huge deal economically, overseeing a portion of the economy – television, radio, the Internet, mobile – roughly equal in size to the healthcare sector.

Moreover, under Obama the FCC has been a massive weapon of regulatory control, imposing public utility-style regulation of broadband, with a serious negative impact on investment and job creation. In that and many other ways, the FCC has been politicized and corrupted under Obama Democrats.

Imposing a Democratic FCC on a Republican president is completely outrageous and no Republican should vote for it. It is inconsequential whether it is paired with Republican Ajit Pai’s renomination, because he is already slated to stay on the FCC for another year and can be easily reconfirmed next year.

Under these circumstances, a Senate vote on Jessica Rosenworcel has nothing to do with her qualifications or record on the FCC.

It is a simple referendum on one thing: should an Obama FCC be forced on President Trump and rewarded for its outrageous regulatory assault on the U.S. economy by retaining power? (For more from the author of “SHOCK: Senate to Vote on Letting Democrats Keep Control of the FCC” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Lawmaker Warns That FCC Rules Could Crush Political Websites

/1 Comment/in , /by

For Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who’s leading the charge to stop “net neutrality” regulations, the possibility that political content on the web, like the Drudge Report or Fox News, could be regulated is a major motivation.

“When it comes to the content side, I have the sense that this is the very beginning of the net neutrality debate,” the Tennessee Republican told the Washington Examiner. “I’ve been very concerned about net neutrality turning out to be the Fairness Doctrine of the Internet, and having that applied to websites.”

“The Internet is not broken. It does not need FCC or FEC [Federal Elections Commission] governance in order to carry on,” added Blackburn, the vice chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

All five FCC commissioners are set to testify before the committee Tuesday morning. It’s been nearly two years since they last appeared before the committee together, but it will be chairman Tom Wheeler’s ninth visit to Congress this year. Committee members were expected to grill them on a range of issues, including an alleged lack of transparency and what they see as “mission creep” in the commission’s decisions to expand its own authority. (Read more from “Lawmaker Warns That FCC Rules Could Crush Political Websites” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

The FCC Says It Can’t Force Google and Facebook to Stop Tracking Their Users

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it will not seek to impose a requirement on Google, Facebook and other Internet companies that would make it harder for them to track consumers’ online activities.

The announcement is a blow to privacy advocates who had petitioned the agency for stronger Internet privacy rules. But it’s a win for many Silicon Valley companies whose business models rely on monetizing Internet users’ personal data.

It’s also the latest move in an ongoing battle to defend the agency’s new net neutrality rules, which opponents warned would result in the regulation of popular Web sites and online services. By rejecting the petition, the FCC likely hopes to defuse that argument. The rules, which took effect this summer, allow the FCC to regulate only providers of Internet access, not individual Web sites, said a senior agency official.

Consumer Watchdog, an activist group, petitioned the FCC in June to support a technology that would allow consumers to signal to Web sites that they did not want to be tracked. By clicking a button in their browser settings, users would have been able to send a “do not track” message to Web site operators when they surfed the Internet.

Some Web sites have committed to honoring those requests voluntarily, but many do not. If it had succeeded, the petition could have made Do Not Track a U.S. standard. (Read more from “The FCC Says It Can’t Force Google and Facebook to Stop Tracking Their Users” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.