FCC Republicans Blast Democrat Attempt to Censor Cable Networks

The two Republican commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington, have blasted attempts by House Democrats to have cable carriers drop conservative networks like Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN.

Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA), both senior Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent letters to numerous cable, satellite, and video streaming companies, asking them if they planned to continue carrying the conservative networks.

The Democrats accused the conservative networks of spreading “misinformation,” a common line of attack used by leftists and their allies in the mainstream media against conservatives.

The letter followed weeks of lobbying from CNN for cable networks to censor their competitors in conservative media.

Republicans on the FCC blasted Democrat politicians for supporting the campaign to suppress dissenting media.

“By writing letters to the cable providers and other regulated entities that carry these news media outlets, the Democrats are sending a message that is as clear as it is troubling—these regulated entities will pay a price if the targeted newsrooms do not conform to Democrats’ preferred political narratives,” said Carr in a statement published on the FCC’s website.

“This is a chilling transgression of the free speech rights that every media outlet in this country enjoys.”

In his own statement, commissioner Simington concurred with Carr’s comments.

“It is worrying that members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have found it appropriate or necessary to apply the overbroad and vague label of ‘misinformation’ to any media reportage that calls into question their preferred political narratives, and have sought to intimidate into silence those who would distribute on their platforms disfavored points of view,” said Simington.

So far, cable carriers and broadcast networks have shown no indication of succumbing to Democrat demands to silence their political opponents.

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.