The Walt Disney Company and its broadcast subsidiary ABC filed a federal lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, accusing the agency of executing a retaliatory campaign to intimidate the network over content President Donald Trump dislikes.
The 45-page complaint, submitted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asks a judge to block the regulator from forcing eight Disney-owned local stations into early broadcast license renewals. The network called the agency’s pressure an “existential threat” to free speech.
The conflict stems from an April order by FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who accelerated the review of licenses for ABC stations in major markets including New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Those licenses were not scheduled for renewal until October 2028.
According to the filing, the agency had not ordered an early renewal review in more than 50 years.
Disney claims the regulatory intervention came in direct response to demands from the White House. The move arrived one day after Trump publicly called for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired following a joke regarding the first lady.
The agency officially cited an inquiry into Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, alongside compliance with public-interest standards. But Disney’s legal team characterized that rationale as a pretext meant to mask targeted censorship.
“Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” the network wrote in its complaint.
COMMENTS0
Sign in to join the conversation
Share your perspectives and engage with other readers.