We’ve been following the recent news regarding Disney filing a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after unusual pressure from the federal government forced the company’s stations to submit licenses for early renewal proceedings.

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Recently, the FCC asked a federal judge to toss out Disney’s lawsuit, and while U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington has a hearing on the lawsuit scheduled for October 6th, we have another update on the situation — Disney has now said that the threats the President has made against reporters and broadcast networks are grounds for a United States judge to block the FCC from reviewing Disney’s eight ABC station licenses early.

According to Yahoo! news, Disney ‌and ABC said in a court filing that FCC Chair Brendan Carr has made clear he is carrying out Trump’s ​specific directives that are “aimed at curbing speech critical of the administration.” The company then went on to say that while the implementation of these actions are improper, they made sense since if the President deems he is “insufficiently responsive to his directives,” he could be removed.

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Carr ordered the early reviews this past April, even though the ABC stations’ license renewals were not scheduled to be considered before October 2028. This is the first time in over 50 years that the FCC has ordered an early review, which was filed the day after Trump ‌urged ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Disney has also cited specific threats the President has recently made towards journalists at NBC, including “Meet the Press” anchor Kristen Welker and an ABC White House reporter. After Welker noted the Republican president’s success in endorsing ‌political candidates has been mixed, the President threatened she would be reported to the FCC for “rebuke or punishment.”

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Disney also noted that Carr warned ​after Trump’s threat that the commission could soon issue guidance ​to broadcast television networks over what he ​called “fake polls.” However, on Wednesday, Carr declined to comment on whether he would pursue action against Welker. Legal experts who have commented on the matter have stated that Welker’s comments are protected ​by the First Amendment. Disney also stated that Carr is following Trump’s “retaliatory directives and using early license renewals to punish broadcasters for disfavored ​speech.”

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Broadcast stations, such as ABC and NBC, need FCC licenses ‌to use public airwaves. FCC revocations are extremely rare, but even the threat of losing a license is enough to pressure broadcasters and raise concerns about government interference in programming ​decisions. We’ll continue to keep you updated on the latest surrounding this news, so stay tuned to DFB.

NEWS: The FCC Asks Judge To “Toss Out” Disney’s Federal Lawsuit

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