Today, President-Elect Donald Trump appointed Brendan Carr as the next Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Carr has stated his intention to weaken Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the 28-year-old statute that enables online speech. Carr detailed his plan to ‘reinterpret’ Section 230 in Project 2025, the sweeping, regressive governing blueprint for Trump’s second term.

Carr’s attack on content moderation clashes with Supreme Court precedent. Earlier this year, the Court affirmed in Netchoice v. Paxton that content moderation is squarely protected by the First Amendment. 

“When people tell you what they plan to do, you should believe them. Brendan Carr has clearly stated that he plans to attack Section 230 and force online platforms to carry sludge,” said Chamber of Progress Founder and CEO Adam Kovacevich. “That’s why Democrats need to defend Section 230, which protects content moderation and keeps the Internet from becoming a cesspool.”

In August, Chamber of Progress sent a letter urging President Trump to clarify his stance on Section 230, noting that while Trump was vocally opposed to Section 230 during his presidential candidacy, he also incorporated Section 230 in the user agreement for his Truth Social platform. 

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.