Commissioner Praises Disney FCC lawsuit

FCC’s lone Democrat backs Disney’s lawsuit challenging agency actions against ABC stations as First Amendment violations.

The Walt Disney Company, on behalf of ABC and its eight owned-and-operated television stations, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the FCC. The suit alleges that the agency’s early license-renewal proceedings for the stations and its scrutiny of whether The View qualifies as a “bona fide” news interview program exempt from equal-time rules violate the First Amendment. 

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gómez, the panel’s sole Democrat, immediately cheered the filing. “For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control against Disney’s ABC stations, using the threat of broadcast license revocations to punish a company for speech this administration doesn’t like,” 

Gómez said in a statement. “I have long called on companies to push back against this kind of government intimidation, and I’m glad Disney has shown courage and stepped up. This should be a welcome sign for every broadcaster who has felt the weight of this overreaching government pressure in silence.” She added that she hopes the lawsuit “will mark the beginning of the end of this administration’s disregard for the Constitution and the law,” emphasizing that “the First Amendment protects the news and commentary Americans see on their screens even when those in power wish it didn’t.” 

ABC contends the early renewal order—issued years before the stations’ licenses were set to expire—and the parallel inquiry into The View form part of a broader retaliatory effort. The network argues these steps threaten editorial independence, chill protected speech, and improperly inject government pressure into programming decisions, including guest bookings on the daytime talk show. 

Disney has asked the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt further FCC action on the licenses. The equal-time investigation stems from The View’s coverage of political candidates and questions whether the program retains its longstanding exemption as a bona fide news interview show. ABC maintains the exemption has applied for more than two decades and that revisiting it, alongside the accelerated license reviews, constitutes unconstitutional retaliation for content the administration dislikes. 

Gómez, who has previously criticized the agency’s approach to Disney and ABC, has consistently argued that such regulatory moves risk broader harm to press freedom. Her support underscores the partisan divide at the three-member FCC, where the Democratic commissioner stands alone in publicly aligning with the network’s free-speech claims.