By Brian Freeman | Sunday, 15 March 2026 06:41 PM EDT
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has doubled down on his warning that broadcast licenses could be revoked in response to President Donald Trump’s criticism of media coverage of the war in Iran.
“People have gotten used to the idea that licenses are some sort of property right, and there’s nothing you can do that can result in losing their license,” Carr told reporters. “I try to sort of help reorient people that, no, there is a public interest, and broadcast is different.”
Carr wrote earlier this weekend in a post on X that “broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
Carr added that changing course is in the broadcasters’ “own business interests since trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all time low of just 9% and are ratings disasters. The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves. It is very important to bring trust back into media.”
Critics slammed Carr for his comments.
Although most of the criticism came from Democrats, Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also rebuked the FCC chair, stating: “I am a big supporter of the First Amendment. I do not like the heavy-handed government, no matter who is wielding it. … I would rather the federal government stay out of the private sector as much as possible.”
Johnson added that “the federal government’s role is to protect our freedoms — protect our constitutional rights.”
