As the FCC reviews radio ownership cap limits, the global precedent for the FCC’s recent deregulatory push and AI oversight are top of mind for Commissioner Olivia Trusty following the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Azerbaijan.
Speaking at the International Institute of Communications North America Digital Communications & Media Forum in DC, Commissioner Trusty said her meetings with regulators across five continents revealed a shared sense of urgency around how governments keep pace with technological transformation.
“Even though the FCC is fundamentally a domestic agency, none of our challenges are purely domestic anymore,” she said. Trusty’s remarks centered on the agency’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” deregulatory initiative, spurred on by Chairman Brendan Carr to identify and eliminate outdated, unnecessary, or duplicative FCC rules. She highlighted it as part of a broader global movement toward simplification, pointing to reforms in India, Bangladesh, and Brazil.
“Many nations are cutting friction, experimenting with regulatory sandboxes, adopting unified licensing models and, in some cases, leapfrogging older systems entirely,” she said. At home, Trusty said the FCC must match that pace through faster licensing, clearer rules, and greater interagency coordination. “In a world where technologies evolve in months, regulatory processes cannot operate on multi-year cycles,” she said, calling for “modern tools, modern engineering, and modern timelines.”
Artificial intelligence, she noted, has emerged as both a tool and a test for regulators. Trusty said the FCC is studying how AI can “enhance emergency communications,” while also monitoring its potential to erode transparency and accountability. “AI cannot become a black box in critical infrastructure,” she said. “The US not only needs to lead in AI within our borders but actively promote our AI systems, computing hardware, and standards throughout the world.”
Trusty’s remarks connected AI innovation to the FCC’s deregulatory agenda, warning that fragmented national rules could slow progress and weaken global competitiveness. “Fragmented rules will slow progress,” she said. “Leadership today requires partnership, clarity, and a willingness to modernize our own systems to set the standard for global innovation.”
The FCC moved quickly after the government shutdown to open comments on its long-delayed 2022 Quadrennial Review of broadcast ownership rules, setting a December 17 deadline for initial comments and January 16, 2026, for replies.
The review will assess whether limits on radio and television station ownership should remain, be updated, or eliminated, focusing on the Local Radio Ownership Rule, Local Television Ownership Rule, and Dual Network Rule. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the proceeding aims to “apply the Gretzky test,” anticipating future market realities rather than past ones.
