• Podcasts AI Policy The speech police came for Colbert On The Vergecast: the FCC’s chilling effect, Apple’s AI gadgets, and Tesla’s robotaxi record. • On The Vergecast: the FCC’s chilling effect, Apple’s AI gadgets, and Tesla’s robotaxi record. • Link Share Gift Generally speaking, arcane and mostly unenforced FCC rules are not the province of late night talk shows. • FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr seems intent on changing that, though; not long after causing a ruckus that brieflytook Jimmy Kimmel off the air, his vague threats appear to have been enough to convince CBS totell Stephen Colbert not to air an interview. • Which, of course, became a whole thing. • Vergesubscribers, don’t forget you get exclusive access to ad-freeVergecastwherever you get your podcasts.
Article Summaries:
- FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has signaled a willingness to enforce obscure FCC rules against late‑night talk shows, following a brief incident that temporarily silenced Jimmy Kimmel. Carr’s threats prompted CBS to refuse to air Stephen Colbert’s interview with James Talarico, a move that sparked a broader debate about the “equal‑time” rule and the FCC’s potential chilling effect on free speech. The Vergecast episode discusses the timeline of the Colbert‑CBS back‑and‑forth, examines how the equal‑time rule actually works, and questions how far Carr’s enforcement may extend.
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