criticized<\/a> To open the door to subjective government interference on the issue of disinformation.<\/p>\nStill, several free speech observers told Al Jazeera that Trump’s actions have been singularly strong, with his rhetorical threats against the media continuing for years, turning more toward action in his second term.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second Trump administration is really characterized by concerted actions to intimidate or coerce or control or undermine the media,\u201d Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) USA, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
Weimers said Carr’s threat related to coverage of the Iran war was “one of the most extreme examples” of that approach.<\/p>\n
Many rights observers agreed that any effort by Carr to revoke the broadcast license for coverage of the Iran war would face an uphill legal battle.<\/p>\n
But he also argued that this was probably beside the point.<\/p>\n
“In practice, the FCC can’t just take away someone’s license,” Weimers said. “It’s a really, really long process … and the FCC probably won’t survive it.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are meant as threats, and threats sometimes work,\u201d he said, noting that local broadcasters rarely have the legal resources or know how to respond to such threats.<\/p>\n
He pointed to KCBS-AM radio station in California’s Bay Area, which had come under criticism from Carr for its reporting on immigration raids in the area.<\/p>\n
As Carr announced an investigation, the station demoted an anchor and appeared to be dialing back any coverage deemed political.<\/p>\n
“The threat worked,” Weimers said. “It doesn’t need to be backed by anything.”<\/p>\n
‘Completely unprecedented’ approach to FCC<\/h2>\n
The FCC, established by Congress in 1934, has historically been an independent regulatory agency that, according to its mission statement, “regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable”.<\/p>\n
It is also tasked, in part, with “ensuring a fair competitive framework” for the American media landscape, including reviewing potential mergers between major telecommunications and media organizations.<\/p>\n
Victor Picard, a professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania, said Trump and Carr appear to be approaching the commission unlike any other administration in recent decades.<\/p>\n
“The way they have weaponized the Federal Communications Commission is completely unprecedented,” Picard told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
“This supposedly independent regulatory agency is clearly treading water for the Trump administration,” he said.<\/p>\n
Carr himself has signaled little departure from Trump, telling a Senate committee last December that it is “not an independent agency formally speaking”.<\/p>\n
Former FCC lawyers have refuted this position, arguing that Congress had intended the panel to be autonomous from the White House; Nevertheless, the word “independent” was removed from the agency’s website following Carr’s testimony.<\/p>\n
During the first months of Trump’s second term, Carr has taken a confrontational stance toward broadcasters.<\/p>\n
Shortly after Trump took office, Carr restated a series of complaints against ABC, CBS, and NBC related to their 2024 election coverage. He launched investigations into public media companies PBS and NPR, amid a broader Republican effort to cut funding to the organizations over alleged liberal bias.<\/p>\n
In September, US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was briefly removed from his late-night show by ABC managers. This comes amid alleged pressure from Carr over comments Kimmel made about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n
Carr has also threatened an investigation over the so-called “equal time rule”, which says broadcasters must provide political opponents equal access to the airwaves. This has affected daytime talk show The View and CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert.<\/p>\n
Critics have called the requirements archaic and logically impossible.<\/p>\n
Pickard said Carr’s threats come amid broader changes in the American media landscape, where troubled companies are increasingly eyeing new business deals and mergers.<\/p>\n
This includes the acquisition of Paramount in August 2025 and the acquisition by proxy of CBS News by Skydance Media, which is owned by David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.<\/p>\n
Paramount-Skydance recently agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN.<\/p>\n
Pickard explained, “It’s the media owners who are trying to make these deals, and so they’re going to put pressure on the people below them to make sure that they’re not overly adverse to the Trump administration.”<\/p>\n
He added, “So all of this leads to this broader objective of trying to rein in the press; trying to get them to amplify Trump’s preferred narratives and talking points.”<\/p>\n
Trump himself recently posted a graphic on his Truth social account claiming he is “reshaping the media”, pointing to the “new ownership” at CNN, while praising the appointment of a so-called “news bias ombudsman” at CBS, who previously headed the conservative Hudson Institute.<\/p>\n
multidimensional approach<\/h2>\n
Still, the FCC is just one aspect of how the Trump administration has approached rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n
Other initiatives have seen the administration use immigration law to target individuals for their speech, particularly pro-Palestine student protesters; It has used public funds to pressure private universities to change their policies on free speech, protests, and diversity programs on campus; And it has made a largely passive effort to punish law firms that hire Trump’s perceived political enemies.<\/p>\n
In many cases, the administration has been “wise about picking battles where there isn’t necessarily a straightforward court precedent,” according to Aaron Terer, director of public policy at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).<\/p>\n
Terror said this is especially true in the context of how the administration has enforced immigration law. The State Department has broadly claimed that US permanent residents and visa holders do not have the same freedom of speech protections as US citizens.<\/p>\n
In high-profile cases last year, the Trump administration sought to deport two US permanent residents, Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsin Mahdawi, for their involvement in a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University. It also targeted student Rumesa Ozturk and researcher Badr Khan Suri for their pro-Palestinian statements and affiliations.<\/p>\n
All four men remain in the US since removal proceedings against Mahdavi and Ozturk ended, while Khalil and Khan Suri continue to fight their removal in court.<\/p>\n
Terror pointed out that a 1943 Supreme Court decision “clearly states” that the protection of freedom of speech extends to non-citizens, but not much legislation has been created on the subject since then, creating weaknesses.<\/p>\n
“From an administration standpoint … it’s easier for them to target vulnerable individuals who don’t have full citizenship or are here on a visa or green card,” Terer said.<\/p>\n
The administration has also promised to increase social media scrutiny of US citizens and non-citizens alike.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, many organizations Challenge:<\/a> A visa restriction policy, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May 2025, sought to prevent individuals deemed “partners in censoring Americans” from entering the country.<\/p>\nThe lawsuit alleges that the policy has had a disproportionate impact on non-citizen academics, journalists, and researchers who study and write about misinformation and disinformation, particularly those related to major social media platforms.<\/p>\n
Separately, The New York Times and other US media reported in February that the Department of Homeland Security had begun subpoenaing tech companies including Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta to identify individuals who oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n
Terer said that 14 months into Trump’s second term, the early steps should be seen as a harbinger for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is how speech suppression works,\u201d Terror told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
“The government will often start at the margins, with the easiest cases or the weakest targets. But when it succeeds there, you can expect the targets to keep moving,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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