Disney/ABC Sues FCC

Disney and ABC Sue FCC Over Early License ReviewThe Walt Disney Company (DIS) and its ABC unit filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 

The suit seeks to block an accelerated review of the broadcast licenses for Disney’s eight ABC television stations and accuses the Trump administration of weaponizing the agency to punish the network.

According to the complaint, as reported by Reuters, the FCC is attempting to coerce and retaliate against ABC for refusing to meet administration demands. The conflict has intensified amid repeated public calls by President Donald Trump for broadcasters to cancel comedy or news programs he dislikes or that have criticized him, along with pressure on the FCC to revoke ABC’s licenses.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr initiated the early license review in April. 

Carr has stated that the action stems from an ongoing FCC investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, rather than the network’s programming content. Separately, the agency has scrutinized ABC’s daytime talk show The View over potential violations of equal-time rules for political candidates.

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro has publicly defended the company’s stance, emphasizing that ABC will not allow external pressure to dictate how it operates its business.

The lawsuit contends that the FCC’s actions infringe on ABC’s First Amendment rights and requests that the court immediately halt the license review proceedings.

ABC is the latest in a string of broadcasters to file lawsuits against the administration for targeting media companies with regulatory efforts that they argue are designed to silence critical coverage.

• The Associated Press last year sued three Trump administration officials for blocking its reporters' access to events like Oval Office meetings and Air Force One press pools, citing a violation of its First Amendment rights. That case is ongoing.
• NPR and PBS both sued the Trump administration last year arguing its executive order to cut federal funding for public broadcasters violated their First Amendment rights.
• The New York Times has also filed federal suits against his administration. A federal judge earlier this year ruled the Pentagon's restrictions on journalists were a First Amendment violation.

Such reviews and license revocations are rare. The last time the FCC revoked a broadcast license related to a station’s programming was in 1969, when a Jackson, Miss., station lost its license for defending segregation on the air. In 1980, the FCC revoked the broadcast licenses of media company RKO for business misconduct and lack of candor.