Disney, ABC Set to Challenge FCC in Court Over Free Speech

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan heard arguments Tuesday in ABC's lawsuit accusing the FCC of using license threats to punish the network's editorial choices. No ruling came from the two-hour Washington hearing.

• FCC ordered early renewal reviews for all 8 ABC-owned stations, years ahead of schedule.
• ABC attorney Beth Wilkinson said the network has already altered editorial decisions under pressure.
• The View has not invited a political candidate on air since February, ABC attorneys said.
• $16 million: what ABC paid in December 2024 to settle Trump's earlier defamation lawsuit.

Why it matters: Broadcast licenses are a legal requirement to use public airwaves. Losing them is what Wilkinson called a "death penalty" for stations. Media advocates say challenging all eight licenses at once is unprecedented.

• Mark Fowler, a Republican former FCC chair under President Reagan, filed a statement supporting ABC and called Carr's actions unconstitutional censorship.
• The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Cato Institute, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed briefs backing ABC's position.

How 17 sources split on this story

Where they split: The central legal dispute is whether the district court has jurisdiction at all, or whether ABC must first exhaust FCC administrative remedies and appeal to the D.C. Circuit.

What’s next: AliKhan asked the government what options the FCC had besides early license renewal during its DEI inquiry.

• Both parties must submit additional filings; deadlines run through October 14.
• Will AliKhan find she has jurisdiction, or will she send the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals?
• If ABC prevails on jurisdiction, how would a court weigh direct presidential pressure against formal FCC regulatory authority?
• Could the FCC's concession that its review is not about licenses — made in court — undercut its own legal position?