Ranking Member Cantwell Asks Again: Where is Chairman Carr

Senator delivers opening statement at second Republican hearing on government attacks on the First Amendment-featuring anyone but key witness FCC's Brendan Carr

[VIDEO]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the below opening statement at the second in a series of Republican hearings allegedly focused on government censorship and the First Amendment. Despite FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's blatant use of regulatory threats against ABC and its affiliates if they didn't suspend comedian Jimmy Kimmel, Chair Cruz has refused to call him to testify before the committee of jurisdiction. The hearing featured Neil Potts, Vice President of Public Policy at Meta, Markham Erickson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google, Will Creeley, Legal Director for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and Sen. Cantwell's witness, Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for having this hearing and for the witnesses being here-but my fundamental question still is: 'Where is Brendan Carr?'

"We might have the right hearing, but I'm not sure we have the right witnesses. We might have the right questions, but I'm not sure we have the right administration we're calling into question. I will take the opportunity to ask the witnesses about AI, about algorithms, about competition on platforms. But as we discuss censorship today, this hearing isn't serious if it ignores the ongoing corporate consolidation green-lighted by the Trump Administration, which is only approving deals that come with a political [quid] pro quo.

"Mr. Feld, in your testimony, you talk about 'consolidation amplifies the ability to control content on an unprecedented scale,' and I appreciate that you recognize the threat posed by corporate consolidation to free speech and independent journalism. In fact you also say, "a handful of opaque algorithms are controlling the majority of discussion online."

"Just this year FCC Chairman Carr approved Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount, but only after Paramount paid $16 million to settle with President Trump and install a first-term Trump appointee as the ombudsman at CBS. And FTC Chairman Ferguson approved Omnicom's $13 billion acquisition of Interpublic, creating the world's largest media buying agency, while ignoring the serious concerns about market consolidation. So rather than protecting consumers and competition, the FTC imposed conditions to favor certain kinds of content.

"[A]s Mr. Feld was saying in his testimony, [it's] really important to have somebody at the FTC that is making sure we understand the consumer harm when you reduce competition, when you basically are reducing investment. The consolidation of audiences and advertising dollars on just a few social media platforms pose real risk to democracy, to the sustainability of local, diverse and trusted media sources.

"When a handful of companies control how information spreads, that makes it easier for any administration to abuse that power with political threats to chill speech. We've seen both Meta and Google recently reached $25 million settlement[s] with President Trump. Those settlements raise concerns about the kind of back-channel arrangements that can distort information.

"The stakes are high now, because as we look to turning to AI for the future, how will that tool be used?

"A July poll from the Associated Press showed that 60% of Americans use AI to find information. While AI has tremendous power for good, this trend raises concerns of the concentration and monopolization of that information. The amount of control in the hands of just a select few could erode the foundation of free speech. The First Amendment isn't just a line in the Bill of Rights-it is about an operating system for our democracy that protects everybody--comedians, protesters, the free press and obviously people we disagree with.

"That is why this Committee should focus on ensuring competition, diverse and truly independent media systems-and all supportive of both transparency expressed in this panel's testimony today and in the previous panel's testimony. Transparency in process can be a very good and antiseptic.

"The proposed TikTok deal is a perfect example of danger when those principles break down. It places yet another major media platform under control [of the family who] already [own] Paramount, CBS, Skydance and reportingly…[are] seeking to buy Warner Brothers Discovery. [W]hat are the details of how we are going to rid the Chinese influence of these algorithms and their misuse of algorithms? I am still waiting for that explanation.

"So, we've seen how consolidation erodes both competition, and we only have a handful of companies owning outlets that Americans rely on for news, entertainment-and those companies become easier to intimidate.

"So I ask again, where is Chairman Carr? These are important issues. I hope they will appear before this Committee at some point in time, because we need to understand the direction that we are going in our country to protect free speech and that is why the work of this Committee should be, as you said Mr. Chairman, to defend the First Amendment and have a free, diverse media landscape. It is more urgent than ever. Thank you."

Click HERE video of Sen. Cantwell's opening statement and HERE for the full transcript, including Q and A.