FCC Chairman Puts ‘The View’ On Notice Over ‘Equal Time’ Requirement

Despite drawing attention to the matter, Carr has also emphasized that he does not believe the FCC should function as a regulator of political speech.

Speaking on POLITICO’s “The Conversation” podcast with Dasha Burns, Carr said the commission’s responsibility is to enforce laws enacted by Congress rather than police viewpoints expressed by broadcasters.

“I don’t view the FCC as the speech police,” Carr said.

He argued, however, that broadcasters operate under a regulatory framework requiring them to serve the public interest and suggested the agency has stepped back from enforcing some aspects of that framework over the past several decades.

“I think in the media space in particular, the FCC over the last 20 or 30 years really backed away from the regulatory framework that Congress put in place,” Carr said.