Disney, ABC sue FCC, claiming censorship of Kimmel, The View

The Walt Disney Company, the American Broadcasting Corporation, and several ABC TV stations sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, claiming violations of their free speech rights. ABC argued that the FCC’s investigations and regulatory actions against the network have violated its First Amendment rights. ABC asked the court to halt the FCC from its review of licenses for its local stations’ broadcast.

In April, the FCC formally called for the network to complete its license renewal process early. It said ABC needed an early review to ensure it was meeting its public interest obligations more broadly. But ABC said the FCC’s actions were a retaliatory campaign of censorship and control against its broadcast and editorial decisions. The Trump administration targeted ABC because it disagrees with what the network broadcasts, according to the lawsuit.

The civil suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

How has the FCC responded? Disney has an obligation to operate in the public interest, an FCC spokeswoman told WORLD. The FCC has been investigating claims that Disney has engaged in illegal diversity and inclusion discrimination for the past year. Disney’s suit demonstrated its concern over the FCC’s investigation, the spokeswoman added.

Why did ABC say the FCC has targeted it?

• The network cited an FCC probe into its show, The View. The show has twice been investigated after it aired criticisms of the Trump administration, according to the lawsuit.

• ABC also called out President Donald Trump’s remarks against Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Following this, the FCC threatened to revoke the network’s license after the comedian’s monologue that referenced the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

• The lawsuit also noted that Trump called for the network to lose its broadcast license after ABC did not air his primetime address in July.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Black’s report for background on the backlash over Kimmel’s remarks on Kirk.