ABC is ‘right to stand up to pressure tactics’ from Trump administration, say media advocacy organizations

Media advocacy organizations are weighing in on a lawsuit that the Walt Disney Corporation and ABC has brought against the FCC over political interference and first amendment rights.

Disney and ABC filed the federal lawsuit in the DC Circuit Court on Tuesday, alleging that the FCC’s demand for an early license renewal process is political retaliation against it for ABC News reporting and shows like Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night comedy that upsets President Donald Trump.

“The day of reckoning for Brendan Carr is finally here,” wrote the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in a post on social media. “Carr has repeatedly shown he won’t hesitate to weaponize the FCC against outlets the Trump administration dislikes.

“Snarky tweets and the president petting him on the back is not going to help him any longer. ABC is right to stand up to Carr’s pressure tactics. In America, government officials cannot abuse their regulatory power to threaten the first amendment.” “It’s about time for someone to take Carr and his FCC to court over their endless campaign of intimidation and retaliation against journalism that displeases Carr’s thin-skinned boss,” said Seth Stern, chief of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

“No matter what pretexts he asserts, Carr’s modus operandi is clear: to serve as Trump’s censorship czar and abuse his office to repeatedly and exclusively target Trump’s perceived adversaries in the media, whether through sham proceedings or threatening letters and X posts.

“Carr knows the FCC is not the journalism police and said so regularly himself before he decided to throw away any integrity he once had to kiss up to Trump. Countless others whose first amendment rights have been chilled by Carr’s antics should follow Disney’s lead.”

“The current FCC has repeatedly used its power over broadcast speech to jawbone, punish, and threaten censorship of its political opponents,” wrote David Inserra, a fellow for free expression and technology at the Cato Institute, in a statement.

“Today’s lawsuit by ABC Disney against the FCC directly challenges the broad and abusive powers that Congress and prior court decisions gave the FCC. No government agency should ever be empowered to restrict free expression based on what it thinks is fair, equal, or in the best interest of the public.

“In a world where the American people and press can speak through print, broadcast, cable, satellite, internet, and other forms of media, there is no justification for the FCC to continue to wield such significant power over broadcast speech.”