The FCC tried to silence Jimmy Kimmel. Who’s next?
Government officials should never be in the business of deciding what jokes or news Americans can hear. When FCC Chair Brendan Carr leaned1 on ABC to silence Jimmy Kimmel, he crossed the line:
We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take actions on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.
When the government tries to silence voices, it threatens us all. Prominent Republicans are sounding the alarm:
- Sen. Rand Paul said of Carr’s comments: “The government's got no business in it, and the FCC was wrong to weigh in.” 2
- Sen. Ted Cruz called it “mafioso” behavior and said: “It is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying, ‘We’re going to decide what speech we like and what we don’t.’” 3
Our leaders can say all the right things, but their actions matter more. Just a few days ago, the House Oversight Committee had an opportunity to provide leadership and hold Carr accountable. Instead, they voted against summoning him to explain his actions to the American people4.
It’s Congress’s job to check government abuse. Right now, they’re failing.
This move comes at a time when Nexstar, a company owning multiple ABC affiliates across the country, needs FCC approval to complete a $6.2 billion-dollar acquisition5. Was this merger also being leveraged by the FCC to force compliance? These are the questions we need Congress to be asking.
👉 Public outcry helped bring Jimmy Kimmel back, but the threat to free speech is far from over. It’s time to take that public pressure and turn it up on Congress to demand they do their jobs.