Disney Sues FCC, Accusing Administration of Political Retaliation Over ABC Station Licences

Disney's stock rose following the announcement of the lawsuit. Disney has officially filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in an effort to halt an early licence review targeting eight ABC-owned and -operated stations across the United States.

In the complaint filed in a federal court in Washington, DC, the media giant argued that the early renewal mandate is a deliberate attempt by the administration of US President Donald Trump to intimidate the company following repeated criticisms from the president. Back in April, the FCC directed the network’s stations—including key affiliates in New York and Los Angeles—to submit their licence renewals well ahead of schedule, despite the fact that six of these stations are not even halfway through their current terms. The station facing the earliest deadline is WTVD in Durham, North Carolina, though its regular term does not expire until December 2028.

The network asserts that this regulatory action forms part of a calculated political “retaliatory campaign.” The 46-page complaint states, “Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech – the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air. Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.”

As evidence, the lawsuit highlights multiple Truth Social posts published by the president in 2025 that threatened the network, such as a statement declaring that the network “should lose their Licences for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives.” Meanwhile, the FCC maintained that the April licence renewal directive stemmed from diversity, equity and inclusion practices at ABC’s parent company, Disney, alongside an ongoing investigation into the ABC network talk show programme The View.

Earlier in March, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters that stations airing “fake news” could face licence revocation amid growing frustration from Donald Trump regarding coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran. Shortly after, Donald Trump demanded that ABC dismiss late-night host Jimmy Kimmel due to comments he made prior to the White House correspondents dinner shooting, where he referred to first lady Melania Trump as an “expectant widow.” Donald Trump subsequently characterized those remarks as “a call to violence.”

Free speech advocates have voiced strong support for ABC’s legal challenge. Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Al Jazeera, “It’s about time for someone to take Brendan Carr and his FCC to court over their endless campaign of intimidation and retaliation against journalism that displeases Carr’s thin-skinned boss. No matter what pretexts he asserts, Carr’s modus operandi is clear: to serve as Trump’s censorship tsar 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.”

Within the complaint, the network requested a “speedy hearing” as well as a temporary restraining order. News of the legal action immediately boosted Disney’s stock, which surged by 1.1 percent during morning trading.