Disney Takes Legal Action Against FCC: What’s Really at Stake?
The Walt Disney Company and its ABC television unit have sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), accusing the agency of trying to punish the network for programming and journalism opposed by President Donald Trump.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, asks a judge to block an early FCC review of the broadcast licenses held by eight Disney-owned ABC stations. Disney alleges that the administration, acting through the commission, has pursued a “retaliatory campaign” against ABC because it disapproves of what the network broadcasts.The dispute places Disney alongside a series of media organizations and journalists that have challenged Trump, his administration, or lawsuits he filed against them. Some secured permanent dismissals or appellate victories, while others obtained preliminary orders that temporarily blocked the government’s actions.“Disney is entirely justified in asking a court to stop the FCC’s attempt to coerce its broadcast stations’ programming through an unlawful campaign of regulatory scrutiny," Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said in a statement shared with Newsweek. "The lawsuit makes clear that this campaign has already chilled ABC’s speech. The First Amendment prohibits the government from using regulatory threats to chill speech that the government doesn’t like, which is exactly what the FCC is doing here," Fallow said.Disney deferred to its complaint when reached for comment....Why Is Disney Suing FCC Over Broadcasting Licenses? What To KnowDisney’s case could test the extent to which an administration may use the FCC’s licensing authority in a dispute involving protected speech.The eight licenses at issue were not due for renewal for several years when the FCC initiated an early review. Disney argues that the timing and circumstances show the process is intended to pressure a network that has refused to comply with the administration’s demands. The FCC has also scrutinized ABC's diversity policies and programming, including The View.The lawsuit asks the court to halt the review on First Amendment grounds. "This case boils down to a simple question: can the Administration use its control over the federal regulatory apparatus to punish a media organization for editorial decisions and news coverage it dislikes?" Disney's motion for a temporary restraining order read. "Because the First Amendment provides a clear answer—of course not—this Court’s intervention is necessary to stop the Federal Communications Commission’s extraordinary assault on free speech."In a statement shared with Newsweek, the FCC said, "All broadcasters have a legal obligation to operate in the public interest—even Disney. The FCC has been examining claims that Disney engaged in illegal DEI discrimination for over a year."Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC's proceeding, as evidenced by their ongoing campaign of disinformation as well as their decision to ask a court to stop the FCC from further pursuing matters," the spokesperson said. "The FCC will continue to follow the facts and law wherever they lead."The FCC's commissioner, Anna M. Gomez, later issued a statement appearing to back Disney, saying that, “For months, the FCC has waged a campaign of censorship and control against Disney’s ABC stations, using the threat of broadcast license revocations to punish a company for speech this administration doesn’t like."Gomez said she had "long called" for companies to push back against government intimidation, adding, "I’m glad Disney has shown courage and stepped up. This should be a welcome sign for every broadcaster who has felt the weight of this overreaching government pressure in silence."What to Remember About ABC’s History With the Trump AdministrationThe legal action follows an increasingly bitter confrontation involving ABC programming, prominent network personalities and the FCC’s oversight of broadcast stations.Trump has repeatedly attacked ABC and argued that the FCC should revoke its licenses. The conflict has touched on ABC’s coverage of the 2024 presidential debate, the network’s decision not to broadcast a White House address and the treatment of political interviews on The View. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has questioned whether the daytime program should retain an exemption from rules requiring broadcasters to provide comparable opportunities to political candidates.Jimmy Kimmel Live! became another major flashpoint. After Kimmel made a controversial joke about first lady Melania Trump in April, Trump called for ABC to fire him.Disney stood by the program, and the FCC ordered the company to submit early-renewal paperwork for its station licenses shortly afterward. Carr said the timing was unrelated and linked the review to the commission’s examination of Disney’s diversity practices, but Disney’s lawsuit presents the sequence as evidence of retaliation....Disney alleges the conflict escalated after Kimmel criticized Trump and his supporters following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in September 2025.The complaint says that Carr publicly criticized Kimmel before stating, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."The lawsuit notes that ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel's show hours later, then reinstated him. Disney argues the episode illustrates government pressure aimed at influencing programming decisions.The clash followed an earlier controversy in September 2025, when Kimmel was suspended, and Carr was reported to have warned that broadcasters could face additional FCC action if companies did not change their conduct.ABC has not always chosen to fight Trump through to a judgment. In December 2024, the network settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump over remarks by George Stephanopoulos. ABC agreed to contribute $15 million toward a future presidential foundation and pay $1 million in legal fees. The settlement did not include an admission of liability.That history makes Disney’s latest move particularly notable. Rather than settle or adjust its programming, the company is now directly challenging the federal regulator overseeing its local broadcast licenses.CNN: Jim Acosta’s White House PassIn November 2018, CNN and White House correspondent Jim Acosta sued after the Trump administration revoked Acosta’s hard pass following a contentious presidential news conference.U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to restore the credential, finding that Acosta had been deprived of due process because he had not received adequate notice or an opportunity to contest the decision. The ruling temporarily restored his access but did not decide CNN’s separate First Amendment claim. CNN dropped the case after the White House restored the pass and established new rules for press conferences. The result nevertheless represented a clear practical victory: Acosta regained his credential through a court order.Playboy Reporter Brian KaremThe Trump White House later suspended the press pass of Brian Karem, then a White House correspondent for Playboy, for 30 days following a heated exchange with former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka at a Rose Garden event.A federal district court blocked the suspension, and in June 2020 a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld that decision. The appeals court found that the White House had not provided standards explaining what conduct could lead to suspension of a reporter’s credential. Karem later reached an agreement under which the government paid his attorneys’ fees and could not punish him for conduct connected to the Rose Garden incident.The New York Times: Trump Tax RecordsIn 2021, Trump sued The New York Times, three of its reporters, and his niece Mary Trump over the newspaper’s reporting on his finances and tax records.A New York judge dismissed the claims against the Times and its journalists in May 2023, ruling that the claims failed as a matter of constitutional law and that ordinary newsgathering is protected First Amendment activity.Trump was subsequently ordered to pay $392,638.69 toward the defendants’ legal fees. The ruling applied to the Times and its reporters, while claims involving Mary Trump were handled separately.The case is separate from Trump’s more recent $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the Times. That litigation remained active in July 2026 after the judge required another amended complaint, so it should not currently be described as a Times victory.CNN: The 'Big Lie' Defamation CaseTrump also sued CNN in 2022, alleging that the network defamed him by using the term “the Big Lie” in discussions of his challenges to the 2020 election result.A federal district judge dismissed the lawsuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal in November 2025. The courts concluded that the challenged language did not support Trump’s defamation claims. That decision gave CNN a more conclusive legal victory than it secured in the Acosta litigation because the defamation claims were dismissed and the dismissal survived appeal.The Associated PressThe Associated Press sued the Trump administration in February 2025 after the White House restricted its access to events in smaller spaces, including the Oval Office and Air Force One. The action followed AP’s decision not to change its style guidance to refer exclusively to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”In April 2025, a federal judge ordered the White House to restore the AP’s full access, ruling that the government could not punish a news organization because of its viewpoint.However, the administration appealed, and the district court’s order was stayed while the litigation continued. The AP’s result is therefore best described as an important preliminary victory rather than a completed defeat of the administration....Voice of AmericaJournalists, unions and press-freedom organizations also challenged the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle Voice of America, the government-funded international broadcaster.A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April 2025 directing the administration to restore VOA and certain related broadcasting networks. The judge found that the administration had forced the service to cease operations despite its mandate from Congress.In March 2026, a court ordered VOA employees to return to work and broadcasting operations to resume after finding that Kari Lake had been unlawfully appointed as acting head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, according to Reporters Without Borders. The government was expected to appeal, but the return-to-work ruling amounted to one of the most consequential media-related court defeats for the second Trump administration.What Happens NextDisney’s lawsuit seeks to stop the FCC review before it can threaten the licenses of the company’s eight ABC-owned stations.The previous cases show that media organizations have often had their greatest success when challenging concrete government actions, such as the loss of a press credential, the termination of funding or an agency order. Defamation cases have produced a more mixed record, with CNN and The New York Times winning dismissals, while ABC and Paramount chose to settle separate Trump lawsuits.Disney now must persuade the court that the FCC review is not an ordinary regulatory proceeding but an unconstitutional response to programming and reporting the administration dislikes.“I am hopeful that this will mark the beginning of the end of this administration’s disregard for the Constitution and the law, and that the coming months will bring the costly legal defeat this agency has been asking for since it started down this path," Gomez said. "It is time this administration understands that the Constitution does not bend to political convenience, and that the First Amendment protects the news and commentary Americans see on their screens even when those in power wish it didn’t.”Update 8/18/26, 5:01 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Anna M. Gomez.Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Sam Wilson.
