Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr has announced an investigation into major technology companies over alleged censorship of Americans. In an open letter, Carr addressed CEOs Sundar Pichai (Alphabet), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), and Tim Cook (Apple), requesting information on their roles in what he described as a “censorship cartel.” The letter accused the companies of suppressing free speech through actions like removing posts, downgrading websites, and labeling content as “untrustworthy,” often targeting dissenting viewpoints.
In his letter to these major Big Tech companies, Carr wrote, “Over the past few years, Americans have lived through an unprecedented surge in censorship. Your companies played significant roles in this improper conduct. Big Tech companies silenced Americans for doing nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights.”
Carr specifically highlighted NewsGuard, a fact-checking platform, as a key player in facilitating censorship. He alleged that NewsGuard influenced what content users saw and which outlets advertisers supported through its partnerships with major browsers and advertising networks.
While NewsGuard’s website states it “combines human expertise and technology to provide data, analysis and journalism that helps enterprises and consumers identify reliable information online,” Carr is telling a different story.
“Indeed, NewsGuard bills itself as the Internet’s arbiter of truth or, as its co-founder put it, a ‘Vaccine Against Misinformation.’ NewsGuard purports to rate the credibility of news and information outlets and tells readers and advertisers which outlets they can trust,” Carr wrote in his letter.
Carr cited examples where NewsGuard rated Chinese Communist Party content as more credible than some American outlets, penalized websites reporting on the COVID-19 lab-leak theory, and included an advisory board member who dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation.
NewsGuard’s co-CEO Gordon Crovitz denied the allegations, asserting that the platform uses transparent and apolitical criteria to rate content.
In a statement released to Fox News Digital, Crovitz stated that, “NewsGuard was founded in 2018 explicitly as an alternative to government censorship or to continuing to rely on social media platforms’ secret algorithms for rating news sources. We take the opposite approach: We apply nine transparent and apolitical criteria for rating news websites and our ratings are disclosed.
“Our work does not involve any censorship or blocking of speech at all. Instead of blocking information, we provide users with apolitical reliability analysis. Instead of censorship, we provide users with more information — reliability ratings of news publishers based on apolitical criteria and a transparent journalistic process — so that each user can make informed decisions about which information to trust.”
Carr, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to become FCC chairman in January, emphasized the need for transparency, arguing that these practices violate Americans’ First Amendment rights. He has demanded records from the tech companies detailing their partnerships with NewsGuard and their moderation policies.
The investigation aligns with congressional scrutiny of censorship practices. The House Oversight Committee is currently examining NewsGuard’s role in influencing media credibility and advertising, while Carr’s inquiry seeks to establish accountability for alleged collusion between Big Tech, fact-checking organizations, and government entities.
In response, a Google spokesperson denied using NewsGuard’s services, emphasizing the company’s commitment to connecting users with diverse perspectives. Meta, Microsoft, and Apple have not yet commented on the matter.
Carr’s investigation is expected to shape federal oversight of content moderation practices, with significant implications for free speech and the regulation of online platforms.
