Comcast’s DEI policies face federal scrutiny as FCC opens investigation
Noting an executive order by President Trump, the FCC chairman said in a letter to Comcast’s CEO that the agency is probing both Comcast and subsidiary NBCUniversal.
Weeks after President Donald Trump ordered the government to combat diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the private sector, a federal regulator this week said it had opened an investigation into Comcast Corp. to ensure the company is “not promoting invidious forms of discrimination” in violation of civil rights laws and regulations.
The Federal Communications Commission said it is probing both Philadelphia-based Comcast and its subsidiary NBCUniversal, which owns NBC, NBC News, MSNBC, and other news and entertainment brands.
“As you know, the Communications Act and Commission rules prohibit regulated entities — like Comcast and NBCUniversal — from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or gender,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, an appointee of President Donald Trump, wrote in a Feb. 11 letter to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.
“Nonetheless, I am concerned that Comcast and NBCUniversal may be promoting invidious forms of DEI in a manner that does not comply with FCC regulations,” Carr wrote, highlighting a statement on Comcast’s website that promotes DEI as “a core value of our business.”
A Comcast spokesperson said in a statement that the company “will be cooperating with the FCC to answer their questions.”
“For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers,” the statement said.
In response to Trump’s executive orders as well as lawsuits from conservative activists, some large U.S. companies have ended or scaled back DEI programs in recent weeks and months, including Google, Target, Amazon, and Walmart. Media companies including PBS, which receives federal funding, have also retreated from DEI.
In the letter to Comcast, Carr noted that Trump had signed an executive order “to end illegal discrimination and restore merit-based opportunity across the private sector.”
The FCC chairman said he will take action to “ensure that every entity” the agency regulates complies with civil rights laws and regulations, “including by shutting down any programs that promote invidious forms of DEI discrimination.”
The agency is starting that effort with Comcast and NBCUniversal because “there is substantial evidence” the companies promote DEI, Carr wrote, and because they “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.”