FCC opens investigation into Comcast, NBCU over diversity efforts

The FCC has notified Comcast, the parent of NBCUniversal, Xfinity and other brands, with an investigation into its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

FCC chair Brendan Carr sent a letter to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts Feb. 12, 2025. 

“I am writing to inform you that I have asked the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into Comcast and NBCUniversal. In particular, I want to ensure that your companies are not promoting invidious forms of discrimination in violation of FCC regulations and civil rights laws,” the letter reads. 

To be clear, the “invidious forms of discrimination” Carr uses to describe diversity efforts have largely been co-opted by some to imply that individuals from specific genders, races and other backgrounds are given preferential treatment, while most experts in the area dispute that overly-simplified and misleading explanation. 

Carter then notes that Comcast is first up because he says there is “substantial evidence that your companies are still engaging in the promotion of (diversity, equity and inclusion)” and that it operates in multiple verticals that fall under the FCC’s purview, including cable television, broadband, mobile networks and broadcast television.

Comcast and its various corporate arms do publicly acknowledge programs designed to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion, including sponsoring a variety of groups for its employees to voluntarily join.

Donald Trump has made it a goal to eliminate the use of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts throughout the country, but it’s not clear how far the federal government can extend its reach. 

The FCC has traditionally been more focused on issues such as signal quality, billing, and pricing in the area of cable television. Likewise, mobile networks are often subject to regulations around billing practices, privacy and safety. 

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The FCC does have more oversight over local television over-the-air licenses, but these tend to focus more on content, signal quality, safety and coordination of emergency communications.

NBCUniversal and Telemundo own multiple licenses in key markets across the country and their over-the-air signals are subject to multiple FCC rules and regulations

Comcast and other major communications providers do also receive some federal funds through programs designed to provide low-cost or free phone and internet access to qualifying individuals, though a key one of these programs ran out of money in 2024.

What isn’t clear, however, is how exactly the FCC might argue that it can mandate how companies that provide regulated services operate in other areas of their business, even if they do receive some federal dollars and are partially regulated by the government.

In fact, the telecommunications industry as a whole has been subject to substantial deregulation going back several decades. Critics also say that, under the second Trump administration, further deregulation is likely, including potentially relaxed ownership rules that could lead to large corporate entities controlling even more substantial chunks of the content viewers see and how they connect. Recent moves, however, have made it clear that the FCC may be planning on prioritizing certain Trump priorities, including ending diversity, education and inclusion, when it comes to approval of sales or other regulations.

It is worth noting that Comcast and, by extension, NBCUniversal, are unique in the sense that its corporate umbrella includes  over-the-air broadcasting, operating a mobile phone service as well as owning both cable channels and cable distribution systems along with broadband internet services. This could have made it low-hanging fruit for Carr to go after first. 

Paramount Global, the owner of CBS, does not control any cable providers or virtual mobile phone providers, though it does own multiple cable networks as well as local TV stations. Disney, which owns ABC, is in a similar situation. 

That said, the FCC also recently reopened three complaints involving broadcast news content that had been dismissed under President Joe Biden, but declined to reopen one involving Fox’s FNC. For its part, the FCC claimed that there is a “clear factual difference” between the complaints and noted only the Fox one had been subject to public comments. 

“Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully, accurately and fairly,” Carr was quoted as writing in a December 2024 note to Disney chief Bob Iger.

This story contains information about Donald Trump and his administration. Because past events have indicated that many decisions, actions and orders can change rapidly and become subject to court orders, this story may be outdated. Information is believed to be correct and current as of publication.