Project 2025 Tracker / What’s done, what’s next

28. Federal Communications Commission · Major

Eliminate FCC media ownership rules and universal service requirements

Partially done

857 28. Federal Communications Commission

“These rapidly evolving market conditions counsel in favor of eliminating many of the heavy-handed FCC regulations that were adopted in an era when every technology operated in a silo. These include many of the FCC’s media ownership rules, which can have the effect of restricting investment and competition because those regulations assume a far more limited set of competitors for advertising dollars than exist today, as well as its universal service requirements.”

What has happened

  1. Partially done

    The FCC voted 2–1 (Report and Order FCC 26-53) to repeal the 39% national television ownership cap and replace it with case-by-case review — the first media ownership rule eliminated. The local radio, local TV and dual network rules remain under review, and the universal service requirements are untouched (the FCC defended the Universal Service Fund at the Supreme Court, which upheld it on 2025-06-27).

  2. Attempted

    The FCC's 2022 Quadrennial Review notice of proposed rulemaking (FCC 25-64, adopted 2025-09-30) asked whether the Local Radio Ownership Rule, the Local Television Ownership Rule and the Dual Network Rule should be modified or repealed.

  3. Attempted

    The FCC Media Bureau reopened the record on the national television ownership rule (the 39% audience-reach cap and the UHF discount), asking whether to modify, retain or eliminate it (MB Docket 17-318). On 2025-07-23 Chairman Carr welcomed an Eighth Circuit decision vacating a local broadcast ownership rule the 2023 FCC had voted to retain.

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

  • The national-cap Report and Order (FCC 26-53) had not appeared in the Federal Register by 2026-08-26 (Federal Register API, term “ownership rule”, FCC, newest first: nothing after the 2025-11-17 NPRM). The FCC’s own release is the Evidence; add the Federal Register page when it publishes. Commissioner Gomez’s dissent calls the repeal unlawful and opponents said they would sue (thehill.com, 2026-08-06, not readable — a lead); if a court stays it, append blocked.
  • Universal service: the Corpus has the Supreme Court’s opinion in FCC v. Consumers’ Research (2025-06-27, https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10776820/fcc-v-consumers-research/), which upheld the Universal Service Fund’s contribution mechanism against a nondelegation challenge. The FCC was the petitioner defending the fund. The opinion was not read in this session (CourtListener opinion pages answer 202), so it is a lead, but it shows the FCC moving away from, not toward, eliminating universal service. FCC rulemakings in the window touch USF programs (Lifeline NPRM 2026-04-03, E-Rate competitive bidding 2026-05-19, High-Cost reform NPRM 2026-06-05, E-Rate review NPRM 2026-08-14) but none proposes eliminating the requirements.
  • The Eighth Circuit vacatur Chairman Carr welcomed on 2025-07-23 is a court action on a 2023 FCC decision; the release does not name the case and the opinion was not located in the Corpus (courtlistener.ndjson has no “Zimmer” hit). Lead.
  • The FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” deregulatory docket (GN Docket 25-133) produced a string of obsolete-rule removals (2025-08-04 onward) but none of them is a media ownership or universal service rule.
Action
eliminate
Object
FCC media ownership rules and universal service requirements
ID
2216