ABC sues Trump’s media regulator over demand for TV license renewals

ABC has sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), arguing that it is being retaliated against for content-based reasons in a move it warns threatens the independence of the press.

The network filed the lawsuit on Tuesday after being forced to apply early to renew its license to broadcast on the eight local television stations it owns. It is waiting to hear whether the Brendan Carr-led FCC approves its renewal requests, or, more likely, holds a hearing on their merits.

Late last month, a group of prominent former FCC officials, including key staffers and commissioners appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents, issued a warning – in a filing – that the agency is trying to send a “chilling message” to broadcasters after forcing ABC to apply early.

Conservative organizations, including the Center for American Rights and the Media Research Center, filed petitions urging the FCC to deny the renewals, arguing that the network’s journalism is politically biased. ABC also still faces an FCC investigation over the daytime talkshow The View for a potential violation of equal time rules, an inquiry that remains open.

“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 said in the suit, filed on behalf of its eight local stations in district court for the District of Columbia.

“That campaign began in this Administration’s earliest days and has only intensified since. Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech – the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air. Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.”

The lawsuit makes clear that ABC does not expect the FCC to renew its licenses, posing an existential threat to the network.

“The Commission is poised to make good on its threat any day now: the public comment period on the renewal applications has closed, and the Commission may, at any moment, issue an unprecedented Hearing Designation Order for all eight Stations, which would kick off a formal agency adjudication to determine the fate of ABC’s licenses.”

The network said that any adjudication process over its licenses would be a “charade”, particularly because the agency cannot, by statute, grant license renewals several years early.

“The Commission cannot lawfully grant renewal this early in the license terms – the only outcomes on the table are adverse to Plaintiffs,” the network said in the lawsuit, expressing concern that the FCC would either “prolong” the process, “miring ABC in years of costly litigation”, or deny it altogether.

“In either scenario, the Administration accomplishes its goal of eliminating a perceived media critic: either it gets Plaintiffs to fall in line, or it silences them if they refuse,” the plaintiffs argued.

ABC’s lawyers argued that, if left unchecked, the Trump administration would have the ability to retaliate against any media company they dislike for editorial and political purposes. “If the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government,” they wrote. “In such a world, the press could in no way be described as free.”

The network asked the court to stop the FCC from taking any actions against it or threatening any actions against it.

The Guardian has approached ABC for comment on the lawsuit.

An FCC spokesperson said: “All broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest—even Disney. The FCC has been examining claims that Disney engaged in illegal DEI discrimination for over a year. Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC’s proceeding, as evidenced by their ongoing campaign of disinformation as well as their decision to ask a court to stop the FCC from further pursuing matters. The FCC will continue to follow the facts and law wherever they lead.”

Anna M Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, issued a statement commending ABC for filing suit against the agency. (Gomez was included as a defendant in the case.)

“For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control against Disney’s ABC stations, using the threat of broadcast license revocations to punish a company for speech this administration doesn’t like. I have long called on companies to push back against this kind of government intimidation, and I’m glad Disney has shown courage and stepped up. This should be a welcome sign for every broadcaster who has felt the weight of this overreaching government pressure in silence,” she said.

“I am hopeful that this will mark the beginning of the end of this administration’s disregard for the Constitution and the law, and that the coming months will bring the costly legal defeat this agency has been asking for since it started down this path.”