The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiary ABC filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday. The legal filing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the Trump administration used regulatory oversight to retaliate against the network for its editorial content and programming choices. The companies are seeking a temporary restraining order to halt ongoing license renewal proceedings.
The dispute follows several instances where President Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly criticized ABC programming. Trump has repeatedly suggested ABC should lose its licenses, citing what he described as "corrupt" fact-checking during a 2024 presidential debate and biased coverage. The lawsuit also references a September 2025 incident in which "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was suspended for five days after host Jimmy Kimmel commented on the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, drawing warnings from Carr that the agency could "take action" against the network.
Disney and ABC argue the FCC is conducting irregular "early reviews" of broadcast licenses for eight ABC-owned stations, noting the agency has not required such reviews in over 50 years. These licenses are not scheduled for standard renewal until between 2028 and 2031. Additionally, the lawsuit challenges an FCC investigation into the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and employment practices, which has involved requests for more than 13,000 pages of documents. Carr has stated these efforts are intended to ensure the company is not engaging in "illegal DEI discrimination" and is operating in the public interest.
The scale of the government oversight is reflected in the 600 information requests issued by the FCC and the eight specific station licenses being scrutinized years before their 2028-2031 expiration dates. ABC claims the pressure has already changed daily operations; for example, the network decided to move a July 16 address by the president to a streaming platform rather than airing it on the main broadcast network. If the FCC prevails, it establishes a precedent where the agency can initiate license reviews based on a broadcaster's content, potentially leading to similar investigations of other media outlets.
The lawsuit further seeks clarification on the status of "The View," which has historically been exempt from federal "equal time" rules that require stations to provide comparable airtime to opposing political candidates. ABC reports that no political candidates have appeared on the show since February, after the FCC began questioning this exemption. A ruling in Disney's favor would protect the current journalistic and entertainment exemptions used by various networks, while a ruling for the FCC could force daytime talk shows to change how they book guests or risk losing their broadcasting rights. A hearing date for the requested restraining order has not yet been reported.