ABC and its parent company Disney have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission over what they call an unconstitutional review of broadcast licenses. The legal action aims to stop early renewal proceedings for eight ABC-owned stations whose licenses are set to expire in the coming years. The FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr, a close ally of President Donald Trump, ordered this early review in April of this year.
This move is unusual because licenses are normally renewed only once their term ends, which is typically eight years from issuance, according to the Boston Herald. The FCC cited ABC’s diversity and inclusion practices as a reason for the early review, which followed a joke made by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s death had upset the president, who has called for Kimmel to be removed from the network, according to a report from Gizmodo.
ABC claims that the FCC’s actions are part of a broader campaign targeting free speech and media expression. The network also argues that the FCC has been trying to apply equal-time rules to its morning show, The View. ABC says The View qualifies as a news program and is therefore exempt from equal-time requirements.
The lawsuit warns that the FCC’s actions could have far-reaching consequences for all media companies in the country. It states that if the FCC succeeds, it will send a message to every company to only report stories acceptable to the administration. The suit includes quotes from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who reportedly said that companies can either cooperate or face consequences.
Carr, a longtime FCC commissioner, was appointed to the chairmanship by President Trump in November. He has made it clear that he is considering revoking ABC’s licenses, or trying to, in what would surely be a drawn-out legal process. Longtime free-speech attorney Floyd Abrams noted that while tensions between broadcasters and the FCC are not new, they have never been this intense.
The FCC responded to the lawsuit by saying that broadcasters must operate in the public interest, even companies like Disney. Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat on the FCC, praised ABC and Disney for standing up to what she called government intimidation. She said that companies should resist such efforts, and she was glad Disney took a stand.
The lawsuit also includes tweets from President Trump where he criticized ABC’s coverage and called for the network’s licenses to be taken away. Trump has repeatedly complained that ABC’s reporting is too negative, and he has personally targeted the network in his Truth Social posts. He has also taken credit for CBS’s decision not to renew Stephen Colbert’s contract and nearly succeeded in removing Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel’s show was eventually reinstated, but the incident illustrates a pattern of pressure on media figures. The suit also includes tweets from before Trump’s second election, including one where he criticized CBS’s 60 Minutes. CBS later became part of a new media company, Paramount Skydance, under Trump’s direction.
Since then, CBS has lost many respected journalists and producers, especially from its flagship program 60 Minutes. Trump often uses Truth Social to express his views and influence how media operates. Commissioner Anna Gomez said that the FCC’s actions are a form of censorship and control over media.
She added that she has long supported companies pushing back against such government pressure. ABC’s lawsuit also notes that even if the FCC wins, Trump will still benefit from the threat of license revocation.
IMAGE: Brendan Carr official portrait. Photo: Federal Communications Commission / Wikimedia, taken 2017-08-15, Public domain