ABC and Disney accuse Trump admin of violating First Amendment rights | The Verge
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ABC and Disney accuse Trump admin of violating First Amendment rights
The network says the FCC’s actions threaten to chill speech.
The network says the FCC’s actions threaten to chill speech.
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ABC is accusing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of violating its First Amendment rights by making “major shifts in policy and practice” that the network claims will chill free speech.
The network is asking the FCC to “affirm its long-standing approach to the bona fide news interview exemption” for daytime talk show The View, and the agency’s support of “public interest services provided by broadcast stations.” ABC says that a series of actions from the FCC “suggests that the Commission is implementing major shifts in policy and practice,” and that “requires the action of the full Commission and the oversight of the courts.” The agency’s big shifts allegedly include an attempt to reconsider an earlier FCC finding that The View is a bona fide news show eligible for an exception to the rule requiring equal air time for political candidates, and asking ABC to file its license renewal applications early in the midst of an investigation over Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) policies. The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Uncertainty as to the scope of broadcast licensees’ editorial discretion threatens to limit news coverage of political candidates and chill core First Amendment-protected speech for years and potentially decades to come,” the network writes in the filing. “As the 2026 midterm election approaches, the American people need more access to political news and more exposure to political candidates, not less.”
“Uncertainty as to the scope of broadcast licensees’ editorial discretion threatens to limit news coverage of political candidates”
The accusations, made in a filing dated Thursday, represents a shift from earlier brush-ups between the network and the Trump administration. The Disney-owned network briefly pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air last year after FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened to pull broadcast licenses of stations that aired it following a joke the late-night host made in the wake of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk’s killing. Just before President Donald Trump resumed power, ABC also agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit he brought over host George Stephanopoulos’ characterization of a jury finding against Trump on air.
ABC suggests that the FCC has selectively applied which shows to go after, focusing on daytime and late night talk shows and not “avowedly partisan talk radio shows.” While it says the FCC is right not to scrutinize conservative radio shows like The Mark Levin Show and The Glenn Beck Program in the way it has The View, “such a clear disparity in the treatment of broadcasters that ought to be subject to the same treatment under law raises serious concerns about viewpoint discrimination and retaliatory targeting.”
The case will be a high-profile test for Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro, who previously oversaw businesses like its theme parks and cruise line, and succeeded longtime leader Bob Iger. ABC’s filing was signed by well-known Supreme Court litigator and former President George W. Bush solicitor general Paul Clement.
Although broadcast news is already far from the main way Americans get their information, the network warns narrowing the FCC’s prior approach to news exemptions “would risk restricting political discourse exactly when it is needed most. While candidates are always able to connect with voters on cable, podcasts, and social media, specifically requiring broadcast airtime for all qualified candidates does not expand speech; rather, it makes coverage infeasible, which ultimately reduces it.”
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