Disney Sues FCC: List of Media Companies That Have Fought Trump and Won
The media giant said the FCC was trying to punish it for its programming and journalism, a claim the president disputes.
The Walt Disney Company and ABC television unit have initiated a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), contending that the agency is attempting to punish the network for programming and journalism disapproved by former President Donald Trump. The legal action was filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, seeking a judge to halt an early FCC review of eight Disney-owned ABC station broadcast licenses.
The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration, through the FCC, is engaging in a retaliatory campaign against ABC due to its disfavor of the network's broadcasts. This dispute joins a growing list of media organizations and journalists who have challenged Trump, his administration, or lawsuits he has filed against them, with some receiving permanent dismissals or appellate victories, while others obtained preliminary orders blocking government actions.
Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, stated that Disney has the right to ask a court to stop the FCC's attempt to coerce the network's programming through an unlawful campaign of regulatory scrutiny, emphasizing that the First Amendment prohibits the government from using regulatory threats to silence speech it opposes.
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