OPEN LETTER TO FCC CHAIRMAN BRENDAN CARR
Request for Regulatory Review
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr — official portrait (Shockya Media 2025)
Statement of Purpose
This open letter is submitted in the spirit of transparency and accountability. The Federal Communications Commission safeguards a public resource—the airwaves—and must ensure they serve the public good. Where concentration or regulatory inertia undermines that mandate, citizens and innovators have a duty to request review.
For more than a decade my companies, including FilmOn, have interacted with the FCC and U.S. courts to clarify how lawful online broadcasters may coexist with legacy media. Key questions of market access, fair competition, and accurate classification now also appear before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ANUHCV 2025/0149) and the King’s Bench Division (KB-2025-001991). The following sections summarize the history and policy issues relevant to those filings.
Historical Background — FCC NPRM and Independent Innovation
In 2014 the FCC opened MB Docket No. 14-261, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled “Promoting the Availability of Diverse and Independent Sources of Video Programming.” Within that record, FilmOn was cited as an early lawful online-TV distributor capable of delivering linear programming consistent with the Communications Act. The docket’s recognition of online MVPDs marked a turning point in media competition policy.
Strong resistance from established networks delayed implementation, and the rulemaking was never finalized. As a result, independent OTT operators were left outside formal protections while the largest four conglomerates expanded their advertising and distribution control. The absence of decisive enforcement became a core issue later reflected in international filings.
The California case FilmOn v. DoubleVerify (2019) further defined the digital-media landscape by holding that false or reckless business classifications in advertising databases can constitute defamation. That decision is now widely cited as confirming that technology vendors share responsibility for truthful labelling. Together, MB Docket 14-261 and FilmOn v. DoubleVerify form a coherent record demonstrating both regulatory opportunity and risk.
Following these developments, I acquired CinemaNow, one of the first digital-film marketplaces, in order to study the effects of market concentration. After continued anti-competitive pressure, the platform was closed, its data preserved for academic and legal reference. The episode underscores the need for updated rules that treat independent broadcasters and digital innovators as partners in the communications ecosystem.
Grounds for Regulatory Review
- Persistent concentration of ownership within four U.S. broadcast conglomerates.
- Unresolved follow-through on NPRM MB Docket 14-261 and modern MVPD definitions.
- Need for inter-agency coordination on advertising fraud and online CSAM exposure.
- Clarification of foreign-ownership limits and public-access obligations.
Requested Actions by the FCC
- Re-examine MB Docket No. 14-261 and update guidance for online MVPD operators.
- Coordinate with DOJ and FTC to ensure advertising platforms do not monetize illegal content or trafficking material.
- Clarify ownership-transparency rules for cross-border media holdings.
- Reaffirm public-access broadcasting as a core civic service.
Information Brief and Closing Statement
This document accompanies filings before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ANUHCV 2025/0149) and the High Court of Justice (KB-2025-001991). All references to misconduct or coordination among corporate actors are cited strictly as allegations described in those public filings. The purpose of this correspondence is to encourage lawful regulatory review and inter-agency cooperation.
Respectfully submitted for consideration by the Federal Communications Commission, allied agencies, and independent media-oversight bodies.
H.E. Alkiviades David
Ambassador-at-Large for the Green Economy (Antigua & Barbuda) | Founder – FilmOn | Hologram USA | SwissX Sovereign Wealth Fund
investors@swissx.com | www.shockya.com | www.filmon.com
