The Walt Disney Company and its network ABC have filed a federal lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), arguing the agency’s recent decision to call home its FCC-issued licenses to broadcast on television was a retaliatory move because of politically-unfavorable but otherwise constitutionally-protected programming.
The lawsuit (read it here) was filed Tuesday on behalf of Disney’s eight ABC-owned television stations in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham and Houston, all outlets whose broadcast licenses have been scrutinized over the past few months after the FCC said Disney provided unsatisfactory responses in an ongoing probe over its purported use of diversity practices.
Disney says the early license renewal demand was actually the byproduct of criticism lobbed by President Donald Trump over its daytime and late night programming, which is carried on the network. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the agency last year, has criticized the daytime talk show “The View” and ABC’s late night host Jimmy Kimmel shortly after Trump did the same.
“Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech — the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air,” lawyers for Disney said in the lawsuit. “Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.”
ABC said the FCC pressure has already affected the daytime talk show: The lawsuit says The View has become more cautious in booking political candidates and has avoided airing certain video clips that could be treated as candidate appearances under the FCC’s review.
The network described the agency’s actions as an “existential threat” to its operations and said it had “no choice” but to seek judicial relief.
“The consequences of the Administration’s campaign against free speech reach well beyond ABC,” the lawsuit said. “If the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government.”
An FCC spokesperson rejected ABC’s claims, saying the agency is acting in the public interest.
“Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC’s proceeding, as evidenced by their ongoing campaign of disinformation as well as their decision to ask a court to stop the FCC from further pursuing matters,” the spokesperson said. “The FCC will continue to follow the facts and law wherever they lead.”
Carr has defended the agency’s scrutiny of ABC, saying broadcasters receive access to the public airwaves in exchange for operating in the public interest.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission’s lone Democrat, supported ABC’s decision to sue in a statement released on Tuesday.
“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,” Gomez said.
All sitting FCC commissioners, including Gomez, are listed as defendants in the lawsuit. Gomez is not accused of any wrongdoing, and attorneys for Disney said she is being sued only in her official capacity as a commissioner.
The lawsuit comes less than a month after Disney urged the FCC to dismiss its own petition over ABC’s eight broadcast TV licenses, calling the matter politically-motivated and unprecedented. A number of former FCC officials have also come to the network’s defense, saying the FCC was engaged in a blatant campaign to censor Disney and ABC over constitutionally-protected speech and expression.
“This early license renewal proceeding is unprecedented in the history of the Federal Communications Commission and a grave violation of both the Communications Act and the Constitution,” the ex-FCC officials wrote in a filing submitted earlier this month. “Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks to censor Disney’s and ABC’s speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don’t like at your peril.”
Signatories included former FCC Chairmen Mark Fowler, Alfred Sikes and Tom Wheeler, former Commissioner Rachelle Chong and several former agency lawyers, advisers and bureau leaders who served under Republican and Democratic administrations.
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