Brendan Carr (lawyer)

Brendan Carr
Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 11, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byTom Wheeler
General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission
In office
April 2017[1] – August 2017[1]
Acting: January 2017 – April 2017[1]
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byHoward J. Symons[2][3]
Succeeded byJennifer B. Tatel (acting)[4][5]
Personal details
Born
Brendan Thomas Carr[6]

(1979-01-05) January 5, 1979 (age 45)[1]
Washington, D.C., U.S.[1]
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMachalagh Carr[1]
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
Catholic University of America (JD)

Brendan Thomas Carr (born January 5, 1979) is an American lawyer who has served as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since 2017.[7] Appointed to the position by Donald Trump, Carr previously served as the agency's general counsel and as an aide to FCC commissioner Ajit Pai. In private practice, Carr formerly worked as a telecommunications attorney at Wiley Rein.[8]

Carr supports changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and opposes net neutrality protections.[9][10] Carr is noted for his support for banning TikTok on national security grounds.[11][12] In office, Carr has been noted for being unusually vocal about public policy issues for a regulatory appointee, accusing House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff of overseeing a “secret and partisan surveillance machine”.[13]

Early life and education

Carr was born on January 5, 1979, in Washington, DC. He graduated from Georgetown University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in government. He later attended Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, where he was an editor of the Catholic University Law Review. He graduated in 2005 with a Juris Doctor magna cum laude.

From 2005 to 2007, Carr was an associate in private practice at the law firm Wiley Rein, where he worked on appellate and telecommunications legal matters. He was a law clerk for Judge Dennis Shedd of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 2007 to 2008,[14] then rejoined Wiley Rein.

Early FCC career

Carr joined the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a legal advisor to commissioner Ajit Pai. In this capacity, Carr advised on wireless, public safety, and international issues. In January 2017, Carr became general counsel of the FCC.

Member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

President Donald Trump nominated Carr to become a commissioner of the FCC in June 2017, and Carr was confirmed by the United States Senate in August 2017.[15] Carr was renominated to a full five-year term by President Trump in 2018 and confirmed by Congress on a voice vote on January 2, 2019. His initial term ran from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2023.[16] In May 2023 President Joe Biden renominated Carr for a new term expiring June 30, 2028 and he was confirmed by the Senate on September 30, 2023.[17]

Tenure

Trump administration

As a member of the FCC, Carr has been noted for being unusually vocal about public policy issues for a regulatory appointee. While in office, Carr accused House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff of overseeing a “secret and partisan surveillance machine”.[13] Carr argued in 2020 that the World Health Organization was “beclowned” in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

In the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, Carr publicly accused social media platforms of being biased against the Trump reelection campaign. During an on-air interview with Lou Dobbs Tonight on Fox News, Carr stated that "Since the 2016 election, the far left has hopped from hoax to hoax to hoax to explain how it lost to President Trump at the ballot box."[18]

In 2020, observers including Doug Brake of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and Chris Lewis of Public Knowledge speculated that Carr would be a leading candidate to serve as FCC chairman under a second term for Trump.[19]

Biden administration

In 2021, Carr criticized the Biden administration's proposal for $100 billion in new broadband deployment as part of the original American Jobs Plan proposal.[20] In May 2022, Carr called for the Disinformation Governance Board, an advisory board within the Department of Homeland Security, to be shut down, slamming the body as "Orwellian".[21]

In November 2022, Carr travelled to Taipei, Taiwan to attend meetings on cybersecurity and telecommunications matters. In doing so, he became the first member of the agency to visit the island in an official capacity.[22] In 2023, Carr criticized the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) broadband funding program, which he argued gave undue preference to fiber.[23]

Political positions

Carr in 2018

Carr is an opponent of net neutrality protections and has endorsed efforts to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.[24][10]

Carr vehemently opposed efforts to block the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk.[25]

In 2023, Carr authored the chapter on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 book, Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.[26][27] In the chapter, Carr proposes "reining in Big Tech" as one of the main goals for the FCC.[28]

TikTok

A critic of TikTok, Carr has accused the platform of harming users and undermining national security, and has referred to TikTok as "digital fentanyl".[29] Carr has said that parents whose children use the application should be concerned with their privacy.[30] The FCC has no authority to regulate online content and platforms like TikTok, and has limited powers to restrict or ban speech.[31] In a November 2022 interview with Axios, Carr reiterated that he believes the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) should ban TikTok.[32]

Apple and antitrust issues

In June 2022, Carr wrote an open letter urging Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their respective app stores, arguing the platform poses a security risk.[33] Carr privately wrote a letter to Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, where he urged the DOJ to scrutinize Apple and Google's handling of TikTok on their app stores.[34] In 2024, Carr advocated for an investigation into Apple over the company's shutdown of Beeper Mini, an application that brought iMessage compatibility to Android phones.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f ".Hrg. 115-478 — NOMINATION TO THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (Carr Testimony)" (PDF). /www.congress.gov. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office. July 19, 2017. pp. 38–85, 121–133. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "FCC Chairman Announces General Counsel Transition". www.fcc.gov. Washington, D.C.: United States Federal Communications Commission. July 19, 2016. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "FCC CHAIRMAN ANNOUNCES GENERAL COUNSEL TRANSITION - Symons to Be Named FCC General Counsel" (PDF). docs.fcc.gov. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. July 19, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  4. ^ "Chairman Pai Announces Tatel To Serve As Acting General Counsel". United States Federal Communications Commission. Washington, DC. August 14, 2017. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  5. ^ "LinkedIn Profile".
  6. ^ "Brendan Thomas Carr | The Federalist Society". November 6, 2019. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Gold, Ashley; Hendel, John (August 3, 2017). "FCC back to full five members as net neutrality vote looms". POLITICO. Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Puzzanghera, Jim (June 29, 2017). "Trump nominates Brendan Carr to fill final FCC seat and provide crucial vote on net neutrality rules". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  9. ^ Kelly, Makena (October 29, 2020). "Meet the man who could lead the GOP's war on platform moderation". The Verge. Vox Media, LLC. Archived from the original on July 2, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Carr, Brendan (July 27, 2020). "A Conservative Path Forward on Big Tech | Opinion". Newsweek. New York City, New York: NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  11. ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (November 1, 2022). "FCC commissioner says government should ban TikTok". Axios. Cox Enterprises. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Fung, Brian (November 2, 2022). "FCC commissioner calls for TikTok ban". CNN Business (Cable News Network (CNN)). Warner Bros. Discovery. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c Hendel, John (June 2, 2020). "Trump's unexpected ally in the fight against tech". Politico. Arlington County, Virginia: Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "Brendan Carr – Commissioner". United States Federal Communications Commission. Washington, DC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  15. ^ Johnson, Ted (August 3, 2017). "Senate Confirms Jessica Rosenworcel, Brendan Carr to FCC". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  16. ^ "Congress.gov: Brendan Carr - FCC". Congress.gov. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  17. ^ "PN672 — Brendan Carr — Federal Communications Commission 118th Congress (2023-2024)". US Congress. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  18. ^ Brodkin, Jon (May 29, 2020). "FCC Republican excitedly endorses Trump's crackdown on social media". Ars Technica. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  19. ^ Egan, Casey (September 28, 2020). "What FCC might look like under 2nd Trump term". S&P Global Market Intelligence. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  20. ^ Eggerton, John (April 9, 2021). "FCC's Brendan Carr Blasts Biden's Broadband Billions". Multichannel News. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  21. ^ "Biden's 'disinformation board' should be shut down: FCC Commissioner". NRB. May 9, 2022. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  22. ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (November 1, 2022). "In a first, FCC commissioner visits Taiwan". Axios. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  23. ^ Nghiem, Quinn (May 31, 2023). "FCC Commissioner Carr Criticizes BEAD Fiber Priority Ahead of Funding Allocation". Broadband Breakfast. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  24. ^ Kelly, Makena (October 29, 2020). "Meet the man who could lead the GOP's war on platform moderation". The Verge. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  25. ^ "Carr Rejects Call for FCC to Block Musk's Purchase of Twitter". Federal Communications Commission. April 27, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  26. ^ Muenster, Roxana (July 22, 2024). "Project 2025: What a second Trump term could mean for media and technology policies". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  27. ^ Dans, Paul; Groves, Steven, eds. (2023). "Federal Communications Commission". Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise (PDF). The Heritage Foundation. pp. 845–859. ISBN 978-0-89195-174-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  28. ^ Taglang, Kevin (July 19, 2024). "Project 2025: Brendan Carr's Agenda for the FCC". Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  29. ^ Knolle, Sharon (November 11, 2022). "FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr Doubles Down on Banning TikTok: 'Digital Fentanyl'". Yahoo!. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  30. ^ Dress, Brad (December 6, 2022). "US intelligence chief: Parents 'should be' concerned for kids' privacy on TikTok". The Hill. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  31. ^ "The FCC and Speech". Federal Communications Commission. May 24, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  32. ^ Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (November 1, 2022). "Interview: FCC commissioner says government should ban TikTok". Axios. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  33. ^ Barrabi, Thomas (June 28, 2022). "TikTok should be banned from Apple, Google stores over data concerns: FCC commissioner". New York Post. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  34. ^ Fung, Brian (December 5, 2022). "DOJ antitrust regulators should look at Apple, Google's handling of TikTok, says FCC commissioner | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  35. ^ Roth, Emma (February 12, 2024). "FCC commissioner wants to investigate Apple over Beeper Mini shutdown". The Verge. Retrieved February 13, 2024.