FCC ABC license review draws free speech warning from former chairs
Former FCC chairs and officials urged Brendan Carr to halt an early ABC station license review, calling it a threat to protected speech.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
A bipartisan group of former FCC leaders is pushing back hard against the FCC ABC license review, urging current chairman Brendan Carr to stop an early renewal process for eight ABC-owned stations.
In a Tuesday filing with the Federal Communications Commission, the former chairs and senior agency officials described the proceeding as “an assault on free speech disguised as regulatory process.” They said the agency began the early renewal process one day after the President and First Lady criticized ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel over a joke he made about them.
The filing also said public reporting and the agency notice for the proceeding suggest Carr has already made up his mind and that the commission could try to end the stations’ licenses ahead of schedule. The former officials called the review a pretext for what they described as Carr’s campaign against speech he disfavors.
Why is the FCC reviewing ABC station licenses early?
The FCC under Carr ordered ABC at the end of May to submit renewal applications for its eight owned-and-operated stations, although the first of those licenses was not due to expire until 2028. Carr has said the move was part of an investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
ABC complied with the order, but the network objected sharply. In its filing, ABC called the process “an extraordinary demonstration of power and coercion directed at disfavored editorial voices” and said it sent a warning to broadcasters nationwide.
The former FCC officials who signed the new filing include Mark Fowler and Dennis Patrick, who chaired the agency under Ronald Reagan; Alfred Sikes, identified in the Deadline report as chairman under President George W. Bush; and Thomas Wheeler, who chaired the FCC under Barack Obama.
What are critics asking the FCC to do?
As part of the renewal proceeding, the FCC opened a public comment period. The former officials noted that the Center for American Rights and the Media Research Center have asked the commission to deny the ABC stations’ renewal applications.
In their filing, the former FCC officials said those groups are asking the agency to police ABC’s editorial choices, including word choice, fact-checking, time spent on topics, personnel decisions and perceived viewpoints. They argued those issues are protected by the First Amendment and are not proper targets for FCC regulation.
The Center for American Rights, in its petition to deny the licenses, cited broadcasters’ public interest duties. The group argued that ABC’s rights matter, but said viewers’ rights should come first in the commission’s review. It also claimed ABC does not provide a balanced presentation of information on issues of public importance.
More than 141,000 comments have been filed in the station renewal proceeding so far, according to Deadline. ABC’s deadline to respond to the comments is Wednesday.
ABC is also fighting another FCC inquiry
The early license review is not the only FCC action involving ABC. The agency has also opened an investigation into whether ABC’s The View qualifies as a bona fide news program and is therefore exempt from equal time rules, according to Deadline.
ABC has pushed back on that inquiry as well, characterizing it as retaliation meant to chill free speech.
The former FCC officials are represented by the Protect Democracy Project, Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Gigi Sohn of G Squared Strategies and Berin Szóka of Tech Freedom.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.