D.C. Memo: Project Delete – Carr Launches Assault on FCC Rulebook
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Project Delete: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr yesterday unveiled his Delete, Delete, Delete agenda – a catchy way of saying he wants the agency to eradicate as many rules as possible as quickly as possible to create prosperity through deregulation. “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,” Carr said in a statement. Comments are due April 11 and replies on April 28 in GN Docket No. 25-133. Carr has been telegraphing this move for weeks as part of a broader plan to roll back decisions by the Biden administration to add regulations – such as digital discrimination rules with a disparate impact standard – or to leave in place legacy rules, especially broadcast regulations, that have been on the books for decades. “We applaud Chairman Carr for taking a deep dive into the many rules and regulations that no longer serve any meaningful public interest purpose and only hamper broadcasters’ ability to compete. Chief among them are the outdated ownership rules – both the national TV ownership cap and the local radio and TV ownership rules – that must be reformed as soon as possible,” said National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Alex Siciliano. In the FCC’s public notice, the agency provided structure and guidance in the submission of deregulatory recommendations. The agency also asked whether it needed to review the continued validity of rules sustained under Chevron deference, even though the Supreme Court indicated in the landmark Loper Bright case such rules were shielded by stare decisis. “Are there rules that were based on a past FCC interpretation of statutory language that should be revisited in light of Loper Bright?” the notice said. (Continued after paywall.)
