Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr is asking the CEOs of Alphabet and Google for answers regarding possible discrimination against faith-based programming.
YouTube TV is allegedly refusing to carry Great American Family, and Carr posted a letter online Friday addressed to Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, Inc. and Neal Mohan of Google, Deadline reported.
According to Carr, Great American Media complained to him about the issue. He did note that several networks including Comcast and Hulu do carry the network.
The chairman explained that Google launched YouTubeTV in 2017. The Deadline article said, “Carr acknowledged the limitations on the FCC’s authority over virtual MVPDs compared to cable distributors, as program carriage rules apply to traditional television. The FCC has had multiple open proceedings to expand the regulatory framework to virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV, Carr noted.”
His letter reads in part:
Importantly, these allegations of faith-based discrimination come at a time when American public discourse has experienced an unprecedented surge in censorship. In too many cases, tech companies silenced individuals for doing nothing more than expressing themselves online and in the digital town square. Therefore, I am writing to determine whether YouTube TV has a policy or practice that favors discrimination against faith-based channels.
I have received complaints that Google’s @YouTubeTV is discriminating against faith-based programming.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 7, 2025
These concerning allegations come at a time when American public discourse has experienced an unprecedented—and unacceptable—surge in censorship.
I’m asking Google for answers pic.twitter.com/jmFvMM3VS5
Carr then asked the companies for a briefing “on the role of virtual MVPDs in the modern media marketplace and YouTube TV’s carriage negotiations process, including the potential role of viewpoint-based discrimination.”
He then asked them to contact his office no later than Tuesday to set up the briefing.
Great American Family appears to have some content on the YouTube website.
In response, Deadline quoted a YouTube spokesperson who said, “We welcome the opportunity to brief the FCC on YouTube TV’s subscription service and the strategic business decisions we make based on factors like user demand, operational cost and financial terms, and to reiterate that we do not have any policies that prohibit religious content.”
In November, Carr urged big tech platforms to take down the “censorship cartel,” Breitbart News reported at the time.
“‘Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft & others have played central roles in the censorship cartel. The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with ‘fact checking’ groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives. The censorship cartel must be dismantled,’ Carr wrote on X/Twitter,” the outlet said.
In 2017, YouTube restored the channel of a conservative blog named Legal Insurrection after Breitbart News and other media outlets covered the story.
