Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has popped the latest question as lawmakers question whether Musk’s Twitter acquisition deal will trigger legislative action.
Brendan Carr, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner, dismissed a left-leaning organization’s claim that the FCC had the authority to block Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, in part because Musk also owns Starlink.
After Twitter accepted Musk’s $44 billion offer on Monday, the Open Markets Institute warned that the deal posed a threat to “American democracy and freedom of expression,” suggested the deal was illegal, and argued that the federal government had the power to block him.
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“The Open Markets Institute believes the deal poses a number of immediate and direct threats to American democracy and freedom of expression,” OMI Director Barry Lynn said in a statement. “Open Markets also believes the deal violates applicable law and that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have sufficient authority to block it.”
Twitter headquarters is seen in San Francisco, California, United States on October 27, 2021. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Lynn noted that “the deal would give a single man – one who already wields immense political and economic power – direct control of one of the world’s most important platforms for public communication and debate.”
Citing Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the Telegraph Acts of 1860 and 1866, the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910 and the Communications Act of 1934, the OMI Director asserted that “The American people have an absolute right to the full To ensure security Openness and neutrality of all essential public infrastructure.” He also pointed out that the US government has applied antitrust laws in the communications area.
“Mr. Musk already controls one of the most important Internet platforms in the world — in the form of the Starlink satellite communications system,” Lynn noted. “Since the late 19th century, the US government has routinely acted to prevent mergers between existing major platforms. … This means that just as we would now expect the US government to block a takeover of Twitter by Google, Facebook, Comcast or Verizon, the same rules apply to Starlink owners.”
This long exposure image shows a trail of a group of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites soaring over Uruguay on February 7, 2021 from the landscape about 185 km north of Montevideo near Capilla del Sauce, Florida Department. (Photo by MARIANA SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Lynn ended the letter by encouraging the federal government not only to block Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, but also to regulate Facebook, Google and Amazon, firmly enacting “clear bans on any manipulation of communications by essential platforms” and all business models who rely on eliminate such manipulations.”
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Brendan Carr, a Trump-appointed FCC commissioner, dismissed Lynn’s claim as “absurd.”
“The FCC does not have the authority to block Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter and to suggest otherwise is preposterous,” Carr said in a statement Wednesday. “I would appreciate it if the entire FCC made it clear that we will not make these types of frivolous arguments.”
Brendan Carr, Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, testifies before the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2019 in Washington, DC (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images /GettyImages)
Carr has previously expressed optimism about Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
“I’m confident that Elon Musk will flex Twitter’s content moderation towards a stronger embrace of free speech,” Carr said on FOX Business earlier this week.
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Tesla, the Justice Department, and the FTC did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ after-hours requests.