FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty says the agency’s push to cut outdated rules and examine artificial intelligence is being reinforced by what she is hearing from regulators worldwide, as the Commission weighs changes to broadcast ownership limits. After attending the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Azerbaijan, Trusty told an International Institute of Communications North America Digital Communications & Media Forum audience in Washington that regulators across five continents are confronting the same challenge: keeping government processes aligned with fast-moving technology.
Trusty said the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative, encouraged by Chair Brendan Carr, reflects a broader international shift toward simplifying regulation. She pointed to moves in countries including India, Bangladesh, and Brazil, describing efforts to reduce friction through approaches such as regulatory sandboxes and unified licensing models. Trusty argued the FCC should match that pace with quicker licensing decisions, clearer rules, and stronger coordination across agencies, warning that modern technology cycles move in months while regulation too often crawls on multi-year timelines.
She also framed AI as both an opportunity and a stress test for communications policy. Trusty said the FCC is examining how AI could improve emergency communications while also watching for risks that would reduce transparency or accountability. She warned that AI systems used in critical infrastructure cannot become opaque “black boxes,” and said US leadership requires not only domestic deployment but promoting American AI systems, computing hardware, and standards globally.
Trusty tied the AI discussion back to deregulation, arguing that fragmented rules can slow innovation and weaken competitiveness. She said leadership now depends on partnership, clarity, and a willingness to modernize domestic systems so the US can help set global norms.
Her comments come as the FCC has restarted work on its long-delayed 2022 Quadrennial Review of broadcast ownership rules. Following the government shutdown, the Commission opened the proceeding for public comment with an initial deadline of December 17 and reply comments due January 16, 2026.
The review will examine whether existing limits should remain, be updated, or be eliminated, focusing on the Local Radio Ownership Rule, Local Television Ownership Rule, and the Dual Network Rule. Carr has said the proceeding is meant to apply what he calls the “Gretzky test,” aiming regulation at where markets are headed rather than where they have been.