Disney and ABC filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday, accusing the agency of violating their right to free speech through aggressive regulatory moves. ABC's lawsuit contends that the FCC is attempting to suppress its speech and is leading a "retaliatory campaign" simply because it "disapproves of what ABC broadcasts".
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has recently pushed for the eight broadcast stations that ABC owns to undergo early licence renewal, up to two and a half years before expiration. If the FCC were to revoke ABC's licences in those eight markets, it would force local stations to stop broadcasting. ABC's lawsuit seeks to halt that action.
"With the threat of non-renewal or revocation of its station licences on the line, ABC cannot ignore the consequences of any decision that might anger the Administration or the FCC chairman," the lawsuit says. The filing adds that if the Administration gets its way, "the message to every media company in the country would be unmistakable: broadcast only the stories the Administration deems favourable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government".
Ray Seilie, an attorney at KHIKS, characterised the move as low-risk for Disney. If it wins, it can rid itself of the FCC and would appear as a defender of free speech. If it loses, it would only be required to allow the FCC to continue its process and potentially take more adverse actions, at which point Disney could sue again.
"What Disney is arguing here is that the licence renewal demand is in bad faith, that the FCC does not have a genuine belief that ABC's licences should be revoked," Seilie said. "Therefore, the court should intervene now and not allow the administration to use the burden and cost of a licence renewal process to punish broadcasters".
The controversy began last year with a monologue by Jimmy Kimmel about a joke related to Charlie Kirk, after which Disney pulled Kimmel off the air after some affiliate stations said they would not broadcast his programme. President Trump has also questioned "The View" and more recently criticised ABC's decision not to broadcast one of his prime-time speeches on 16 July, which led him to demand the revocation of ABC's licences.
The FCC claims that its review is based on an investigation into Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion policies. But the lawsuit notes that any action the FCC brings would be "a sham" that would drag on indefinitely with costly litigation and constant threats, or force Disney off the air entirely.
Ray Seilie explained that Disney and ABC likely filed the lawsuit now because the FCC is taking concrete actions against them, something Disney can challenge in courts. When the initial drama with Kimmel occurred, there was public outrage, but the licence review appears much more like retaliation.
In response to the lawsuit, an FCC spokesperson said that "all broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest, including Disney. The FCC has been examining complaints that Disney engaged in illegal discrimination related to diversity policies for over a year".
For her part, Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gómez praised Disney for opposing the administration's censorship threats. "For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control against Disney's ABC stations, using the threat of broadcast licence revocation to punish a company for speech that this administration dislikes," Gómez said.
