Disney and ABC Sue FCC Over Retaliatory Early License Renewal Process Tied to Trump Criticism

Walt Disney and its ABC unit filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on August 18, seeking a court order to halt an early broadcast license renewal proceeding that the company describes as a retaliatory campaign by the Trump administration. In April, the FCC ordered Disney's eight owned-and-operated television stations to file their broadcast license renewals ahead of schedule, a move ABC characterized in its federal court complaint as an unconstitutional abuse of government power. The FCC had also opened separate probes into ABC's DEI practices and its application of equal-time rules, both triggered by on-air criticism of President Trump by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and the hosts of The View.

Disney accused the Trump administration of attacking ABC's speech, specifically the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its programming airs, and argued that the FCC's investigations are pretextual regulatory actions designed to punish editorial decisions the administration dislikes. The lawsuit asks the court to end the accelerated license renewal proceeding, framing the broader regulatory pressure as a direct threat to broadcast journalism independence.