The 2-1 vote drew heavy criticism from groups that advocate for press freedom and media pluralism. A group of protesters demonstrated outside the FCC building in Washington, holding out photos of Carr’s face with the word “shame” on it.

“Changing this limit requires congressional action, but Carr doesn’t care,” said Matt Wood, vice-president of policy and general counsel of Free Press, an advocacy organization that aims to promote free speech, in a statement. “He’ll do whatever it takes to clear the way for Trump-aligned billionaires to swallow up stations wherever and whenever they please. The result would be just one or two dominant broadcasters in every market, deep job cuts for journalists and an influx of bargain-basement content disguised as local news. This spells disaster for the local communities that broadcasters are supposed to serve.”