Disney Takes Its Fight With the FCC From the Airwaves to Court

Disney and ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission, alleging that the agency’s early review of eight ABC station licenses was retaliation for programming and editorial choices, including Jimmy Kimmel. The FCC says broadcasters must operate in the public interest. The lawsuit matters because it moves a long-running pressure campaign into court and frames the dispute as a direct First Amendment test: whether a broadcast regulator may use licensing power in ways that chill protected editorial speech.

Disney and ABC sued the FCC over an early license-renewal process they call retaliation for protected speech, forcing a court test of how far broadcast regulation can reach into editorial judgment.