The FCC has opened an inquiry into Comcast Corp.’s employee programs, stepping up efforts to “root out” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that it said may violate equal employment laws.
The Los Angeles Times reports Comcast may just be the first media company to face such an inquiry. The Philadelphia cable and television giant said in a statement that it would be “cooperating with the FCC to answer their questions.”
The move comes less than a month after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr took the helm of the agency that oversees communications policy and broadcast licenses. Carr, who was elevated to the top role by President Trump, immediately dismantled the agency’s DEI programs, pulling the plug on budget expenditures and staff members dedicated to promoting inclusion.
In a letter to Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts on Tuesday, Carr wrote that his goal was to “ensure that your companies are not promoting invidious forms of discrimination in violation of FCC regulations and civil rights laws.
The landmark Communications Act and FCC rules forbid companies from “discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, or gender,” Carr reminded Roberts in the letter. The FCC chief acknowledged the probe was part of a broader effort to scrutinize workplace incentives within the companies he regulates to end “the scourge of DEI.”
Eliminating DEI efforts has been a top priority of the Trump administration. Trump has signed an executive order to demand merit-based opportunity across the private sector.
This week, Walt Disney Co. acknowledged softening some of its DEI policies, including retiring a “diversity and inclusion” performance factor in its executive compensation calculations.
The NY Post reports Disney is also scrapping the content warnings for its animated classics that have racially charged storylines, like “Dumbo” and “Peter Pan” — a stark reversal as the company seeks to comply with President Trump’s DEI crackdown.
The entertainment giant will move the disclaimers that flash at the start of the movie on its streaming platform to the “details” section and significantly trim down the language, sources told Axios. The shortened advisory will read, “This program is presented as originally created and may contain negative stereotypes or negative depictions,” according to Axios.
The previous auto-play message had warned viewers that the film “includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures.” Disney had flagged “Dumbo” for racial insensitivity — including a crow named “Jim Crow” — and “Peter Pan” received a content warning for its stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans, with its character the “Indian Chief.”
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