In my previous blog post, I detailed the impact that the Trump administration has already had in just a few weeks on progress in achieving digital equity through its attack campaign on Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives. As it turns out… the FCC has not been far behind. On February 11, Newsmax obtained a letter from the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts seeking to open an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation to “root out invidious forms of DEI discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates.” Yes, this sounds hard to believe… Chairman Carr, here, is saying he is actively seeking to root out diversity, equity, and inclusion across several sectors through broad federal power. In this letter, which made its way into Newsmax’s hands somehow before even being seen by the public for which the FCC serves, Chairman Carr claims that Comcast/NBCUniversal’s DEI initiatives are “invidious forms of discrimination [that] cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law” and therefore seeks to ensure that Comcast companies are not promoting discrimination that violates FCC statute or civil rights law.
Chairman Carr writes that he is starting this broad DEI-investigation effort with Comcast for two reasons: (1) there is “substantial evidence” that Comcast is “still engaging in the promotion of DEI,” and (2) Comcast “companies cover a range of sectors regulated by the FCC — from cable to high-speed internet and from broadcast TV stations to MVNO [mobile virtual network operator] wireless offerings.” What the FCC Chair fails to do is provide a valid reason or any substantive evidence for this wasteful investigation in the first place. Only citing Comcast’s website listing DEI as “a core value of [its] business,” reports on Comcast’s “DEI infrastructure,” “DEI day[s],” and “DEI training for company leaders,” and NBCUniversal’s similar initiatives, Chairman Carr is unable to show any evidence of “illegal” DEI practices (DEI is not illegal). Likely because this is a politically-fueled probe only to advance Trump’s agenda to claw back progress, censor and intimidate the media, and ignore decades of precedent and the law in general.
Adding more fuel to the fire, Chairman Carr is continuing his (and Trump’s) anti-DEI agenda, having also initiated a similar investigation into Verizon’s DEI policies as part of its ongoing merger proceeding before the FCC. Typically, Chairman Carr has used his power to hold up mergers, as he did with Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier. But – as the Verizon letter points out – Chairman Carr will not hesitate to launch a spurious “investigation” to attempt to intimidate the industries he regulates. Is this just the Carr FCC’s new trend?
Chairman Carr is starting this investigation effort with Comcast just to make a political statement.
Comcast, on its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion webpage, appears to have a four-pronged commitment to DEI: (1) Employees: promoting opportunities for all and a culture of diversity and inclusion, (2) Digital Equity: committing $1 billion to advance digital equity through Project UP, (3) Media, Awareness & Education: highlighting diverse voices and inclusive cultures to help shed light on inequality, and (4) Small Business: supporting small businesses with grants, technology, and marketing. While this post won’t get into every detail of Comcast’s DEI policies, several impacts listed below shed light on what exactly Comcast may be doing that rises to a level of importance for Chairman Carr to use taxpayer funds to launch the politically-driven investigation of what is supposed to be an independent federal agency.
In reality, there is little evidence that Comcast is doing anything “invidious” and the data really just shows that Comcast is doing things that uplift communities who need support the most – what is wrong with that? I encourage the reader to view Comcast’s 2024 Impact Report to learn more about Comcast’s impact on closing the digital divide through Project UP, advancing DEI in the workplace, and supporting the environment. On the numbers, Comcast has a total workforce comprised of 37.1% women and 46.3% people of color – but DEI doesn’t just boil down to those numbers; it is bigger than that. DEI initiatives lead to the employment of veterans and disabled or low-income workers so they are not overlooked due to their background, truly helping to level the playing field for everyone. To this extent, Comcast boasts that its commitment to DEI has increased supplier diversity, supported veterans through Hiring Our Heroes, made programming more accessible, and given $463 million through community support initiatives in 2023 alone.
So, why Comcast?
There doesn’t really seem to be an explanation other than the fact that this is a politically driven witch-hunt aimed at one of the largest cable operators and internet service providers in the country for the express purpose of getting Comcast to censor itself. President Trump routinely attacks Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Comcast-owned networks such as MSNBC, and broadcast programs such as Saturday Night Live. This is an assault on a provider that sometimes shows views opposite of the Chairman and the Trump administration – a company whose views have already been sued by Trump, whose news networks often oppose his policies, and whose DEI efforts are against the administration’s oppressive agenda.
In the best light, this investigation is about discouraging inclusion that is required by law. However, it appears more likely that it is part of Chairman Carr’s general vendetta against Comcast’s subsidiary NBC for airing Saturday Night Live sketches that mock President Trump, or submission to Trump’s disdain for news anchors challenging him on MSNBC.
This broad investigation into DEI represents a complete reversal from years of longstanding policy that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Chairman Carr’s action in initiating this investigation into Comcast’s DEI policies conflicts with the Commission’s longstanding policy and directive to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the communications sector. Tenets that are the foundation of the Communications Act of 1934, which created the FCC, promoted these ideals over 90 years ago. Over the years, Congress, the only governing body that has any control over what the Commission can and cannot do, has passed laws supporting the promotion of the D, the E, and the I of DEI. For example, in Section 60506 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress directed the FCC to make rules to facilitate equal access to broadband internet access service, leading to the Commission’s promulgation of its Digital Discrimination Order. Chairman Carr’s attack on Comcast’s DEI policies is contrary to the law created by Congress and past policy of the Commission.
Turning first to the Communications Act, the law is clear. In contemplating market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and small businesses, the Commission is instructed to promote “diversity of media voices, vigorous economic competition, technological advancement, and promotion of the public interest.” Furthermore, the Commission must promote “diversity in the multichannel video programming market.” Statute even created an Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth at the NTIA, which is tasked to “connect with communities that need access to high-speed internet and improved digital inclusion efforts through various forms…” thereby demonstrating Congress’ preference for diversity and digital inclusion. And even one of the most foundational tenets of the Communications Act, universal service, cannot be contemplated without the consideration of DEI principles. How is this – universal service to all Americans – to be imagined or achieved without diversity, equity, and inclusion?
In several other laws too, Congress has made clear the national policy of diversity, equity, and inclusion in communications. In 1999, Congress determined “[i]t is in the public interest to promote diversity in television programming…” And in 1992, Congress found there is “a substantial governmental and First Amendment interest in promoting a diversity of views provided through multiple technology media,” and even found that “increased numbers of females and minorities in positions of management authority in the cable and broadcast television industries advances the Nation’s policy favoring diversity in the expression of views in the electronic media.”
Congress’s and the Commission’s more recent actions focusing on broadband further underscore the importance of DEI in achieving the goals of the Communications Act. In 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on a bipartisan basis in which “equity” in the telecommunications industry was specifically emphasized. Notably, this includes the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) and the Digital Equity Act, which both contain the word equity in their titles. And beyond this, the IIJA instructed the Commission to make rules related to equity, which it did according to law. This mandate includes an explicit finding that “the digital divide disproportionately affects communities of color, lower-income areas, and rural areas, and the benefits of broadband should be broadly enjoyed by all.”
Indeed, the Commission too previously blessed Comcast’s adoption of the very sort of DEI practices Chairman Carr is attacking now. In 2011, when the Commission approved the merger between Comcast and NBCUniversal, it cited with approval of Comcast’s “Diversity Memorandum” and other merger commitments to civil rights organizations and labor unions, such as workforce recruitment focused on Hispanic populations and a “comprehensive series of initiatives to continually improve diversity at all levels” (emphasis added) that targeted workplace diversity. Furthermore, of relevance here, the Commission observed that overall it is the “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, along with relevant state authorities, [which] oversees the laws on workforce discrimination and diversity” – not the FCC.
All of the above clearly demonstrates a long-standing policy of diversity, equity, and inclusion as it relates to advancing the communication sector. DEI does not mean that a company is hiring based on race. It means that a company is uplifting all Americans by prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion through programs that can include community investment, fair hiring practices, equal workplace support, training, and more. While these programs may focus on race, they also focus on underserved populations, low-income consumers, veterans, gender equality, supporting disabled persons, and more.
Chairman Carr’s attempt to intimidate Comcast is wasting federal resources for a futile, likely illegal, costly, politically-driven, and even invidious “investigation” into policies that promote American ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
What Chairman Carr is doing is against the public interest and the intended purposes and objectives of the FCC. This makes it against the law. Instead of conserving resources in a time where the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is firing federal workers left and right for the sake of “efficiency,” Chairman Carr is throwing taxpayer dollars at a useless cause. This hypocrisy is a shame.
Chairman Carr’s inquiry is nothing more than a coercive threat, launching an intimidation campaign against businesses that challenge the Trump agenda. Comcast is at the forefront, being a company that has openly opposed Chairman Carr’s efforts to leverage the Federal Communications Commission in support of threats against NBC from the President. It certainly won’t be the last. These measures appear to be solely intended to satisfy the President, disregarding the interests of the American people and the treasured American freedoms of speech, press, and enterprise.
But what makes this even more outrageous than the other “investigations” designed to intimidate broadcasters and cow journalists into self-censoring is that the “investigation” into Comcast reverses over 90 years of Communications law and Commission policy. It takes the practices the Commission approved – even praised – and tries to turn them into an undefined crime that Chairman Carr appoints himself to enforce. Like Lewis Carol’s Red Queen, Chairman Carr’s “investigation” makes a mockery of the law and turns the public interest on its head.