Disney, ABC battle Trump's FCC in court over free speech protections

A federal court in Washington, D. C. , hears arguments Tuesday in a case that tests how far First Amendment protections reach under the Trump administration. Walt Disney Co. and ABC want U. S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan to block the Federal Communications Commission from speeding up its review of the licenses for the eight stations Disney owns through ABC. The judge had already ordered the agency to pause until the hearing. Media advocates, FCC veterans and legal observers call the all-at-once challenge unprecedented, and six of the stations sit in major markets that matter greatly to ABC's finances.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel and has pressed the FCC to strip its licenses. FCC Chair Brendan Carr says the review is not tied to content, though he has criticized the network as biased and said no decision on licenses has been made. Whether any action has occurred may affect Disney's standing to sue.

Republican fundraising committees back the FCC, while the Cato Institute and other conservative-leaning groups oppose it.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR →