Federal Communications Chair (FCC) Brendan Carr launched a probe into NBCUniversal and its parent company, Comcast, for violating equal employment opportunity laws.
“I am writing to inform you that I have asked the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Comcast and NBCUniversal,” the letter to Comcast, obtained by Newsmax, reads. “In particular, I want to ensure that your companies are not promoting invidious forms of discrimination in violation of FCC regulations and civil rights laws.”
“I am starting this broader effort with Comcast and NBCUniversal for two reasons,” Carr wrote. “First, as noted above, there is substantial evidence that your companies are still engaging in the promotion of DEI.”
“Second, your 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,” the letter read. “Therefore, I expect that this investigation into Comcast and its NBCUniversal operations will aid the commission’s broader efforts to root out invidious forms of DEI discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates.”
Describing the DEI efforts as described on Comcast’s website, Carr wrote that “NBCUniversal has similar DEI initiatives, including executives specifically dedicated to promoting DEI across the TV and programming side of the business.” He noted that “promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law.”
Carr has also announced investigations into NPR and PBS due to their airing of commercials. “In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements,” he wrote to NPR and PBS presidents and chief executives Katherine Maher and Paula A. Kerger, respectively.
