The Walt Disney Company asked a federal judge Tuesday to halt an early Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review of licenses held by eight company-owned television stations. The case could help define when presidential criticism followed by regulatory action crosses into unconstitutional retaliation. Its outcome may affect how freely broadcasters make editorial decisions while facing federal scrutiny.
Disney attorney Beth Wilkinson told U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan that the review left Disney-owned ABC with its head beneath a regulatory “guillotine,” forcing the network to consider whether its programming could prompt further action. The FCC rejected that characterization, arguing that ABC’s licenses will remain valid during the review and any legal challenges.
The commission says it is investigating Disney’s employment practices, not punishing the company for its programming. First Amendment lawyer Jeff Lewis says that the case stands apart because public criticism of ABC preceded the licensing action. The company says the process amounts to retaliation against protected speech.
The FCC announced the review in April, one day after Trump called for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about the president and first lady Melania Trump. Trump has also criticized ABC News and The View and urged regulators to act against broadcasters he considers biased. The timing could supply key circumstantial evidence if Disney’s retaliation claim proceeds, Lewis said.
Andrew Stoltmann, a constitutional attorney and adjunct law professor at Northwestern University, told Newsweek the government’s use of licensing authority could create a dangerous precedent. The court has not determined that the FCC acted in retaliation. The commission maintains that its review is a legitimate exercise of its regulatory authority.
The ABC station licenses were not scheduled for renewal until October 2028 at the earliest, with most remaining valid until 2030 or 2031. The FCC had not initiated a comparable early review in more than 50 years, according to Disney. Lewis said that history could bolster the company’s claim that the stated reason for the review is a pretext.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
