The FCC's Job Is Traffic Control, Not Thought Control. One Director Seems to Have Forgotten. by NWO Sparrow

The Truth About the FCC and Why Brendan Carr Had No Right to Target Jimmy Kimmel

Let me be clear about something. The recent suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC has sparked a firestorm, and much of the conversation has been misdirected. Much of that misdirection is thanks to one man, Brendan Carr. To understand why this situation is so troubling, you need to understand who Brendan Carr is and what his job actually entails. More importantly, you need to understand what it does not entail.

Brendan Carr is one of five commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC. He was first appointed by President Trump and has since been reconfirmed. His role, and the role of the entire FCC, is often misunderstood. The FCC is an independent government agency. Its primary mission is to regulate interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Think of them as the traffic cops of the airwaves. They allocate spectrum licenses, enforce rules about obscenity and indecency, and work to ensure competition in the media market. Their job is to manage the how of broadcasting, the technicalities and basic standards, not the what.

The key point here is that the FCC does not have the authority to regulate content based on its viewpoint. They cannot tell a host what they can or cannot say politically. Their rules on obscenity are narrow and specific. They are not the speech police. This is a critical distinction that seems to have been lost in the frenzy surrounding Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension.

Now, Brendan Carr is a conservative commissioner. He is well within his rights to offer his personal opinions on any matter he chooses. He can go on television, he can post on social media, and he can criticize any media personality he wants. That is his right as a private citizen. But he must do so without the implied weight of his government office. When he publicly celebrates the silencing of a critic, he blurs a very dangerous line. He creates the perception that a government agency is applauding the censorship actions of a private corporation. That perception is toxic to a free society.

Let us be absolutely definitive. Brendan Carr had no legal or regulatory right to get Jimmy Kimmel suspended. The FCC possesses no mechanism to suspend a television host. ABC is a private company. It made a private, and in my opinion cowardly, decision based on pressure, not law. Carr’s celebration of this event is a celebration of corporate censorship that he, as a government official, should be standing against. His actions are a perversion of his role. His job is to protect a competitive and open media landscape, not to cheerlead from the sidelines when one voice he disagrees with is silenced.

This is not a small matter. It is a page from an old and dangerous playbook. Look at history. Look at what Vladimir Putin did in Russia over twenty five years ago. It did not start with tanks in the streets. It started subtly, under the radar. It started with the silencing of satirists and comedians. The first target was a puppet show that dared to criticize the powerful. Why start there, because comedians and artists speak truth to power in a way that resonates with the public. When you silence the jester, you silence the truth. You normalize the idea that criticism is punishable. Once that precedent is set, it spreads.

What we are witnessing with the targeting of Jimmy Kimmel is the same soft censorship. It is the use of political and corporate pressure to achieve what the government is legally forbidden from doing itself. It is insidious. It is dangerous. And it is being championed by a man who has sworn an oath to uphold the principles of a free and open communication system.

The bottom line is this. The FCC’s job is traffic control. Brendan Carr’s job is to be a regulator, not a commentator with a government title cheering on cancellation. He has overstepped his role and contributed to an atmosphere of intimidation. ABC’s decision is its own, and history will judge it poorly. But we must be vigilant when government officials appear to endorse the silencing of speech. That is how the slippery slope begins. We must call it out for what it is, and defend the right to speak, even when the joke is on them.

Check out my full breakdown of the Brendan Carr and Jimmy Kimmel FCC battle here via Youtube

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