FCC Chair Brendan Carr says broadcast licenses are not a "property right"

Source: Aol/CBS News

Updated Sun, March 15, 2026 at 2:57 AM EDT


In an exclusive interview with CBS News on Saturday, Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr doubled down on his warning that broadcast licenses could be revoked amid President Trump's criticisms of media coverage of the war in Iran. "People have gotten used to the idea that, you know, licenses are some sort of property right, and there's nothing you can do that can result in losing their license," Carr told CBS News. "I try to sort of help reorient people that, no, there is a public interest, and broadcast is different."

Earlier Saturday, Carr wrote in an X post that "broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not." Carr posted the message in response to Mr. Trump's Truth Social post slamming media coverage of an attack on U.S. air tankers in Saudi Arabia.

"Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service," Mr. Trump wrote. "None were destroyed, or close to that, as the Fake News said in headlines." In his post, Mr. Trump specifically criticized newspaper outlets The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, but the president has often criticized broadcast TV news outlets, claiming negative coverage and suggesting some have their licenses revoked.

Critics immediately pounced on Carr's post from Saturday. "Constitutional law 101: it's illegal for the government to censor free speech it just doesn't like about Trump's Iran war," Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote on social media in response.

Read more: https://www.aol.com/articles/fcc-chair-brendan-carr-says-013500203.html

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