WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Disney and its ABC unit sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday to block an early review of licenses for eight ABC stations, arguing that the Trump administration is trying to punish the network over its broadcast content.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop comedy or news programs he dislikes or which have been critical of him or his administration, and has pressed the FCC on numerous occasions to revoke ABC's licenses.
Disney said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington that the FCC was seeking to coerce and retaliate against "a network that refuses to bow to the administration's demands," calling the agency's actions an "extraordinary assault on free speech."
Trump has waged an aggressive series of attacks on the news media and the latest move follows a two-year-long battle between Trump and Disney. Last month, Trump again called for ABC stations to lose their licenses because the network refused to air a prime-time speech on elections.
The court case will pose a key test of the free speech rights of media outlets.
Disney and ABC asked the court to quickly issue a temporary restraining order halting the license renewal proceedings and preventing the FCC from scheduling a hearing. The company said the public comment period ended earlier this month and the FCC could act at any time.
The lawsuit alleges that the administration is violating the company's First Amendment free speech rights, saying that the FCC "is using its regulatory power to retaliate against (Disney and ABC) for programming and editorial decisions the administration dislikes."
The FCC said the move stemmed from a year-long investigation into whether Disney's diversity policies amounted to unlawful discrimination, an allegation the company denies.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan issued an order on Tuesday directing the company and the FCC to propose a schedule for considering the request for a temporary restraining order and told the agency to notify her if it moves to start the process of revoking the ABC licenses.
The White House did not immediately comment.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr ordered the reviews in April, even though the stations' license renewals were not scheduled to be considered before October 2028. The FCC had not ordered an early review in more than 50 years before April.
"Disney seems to be a little nervous about what the record's showing," Carr said in a Reuters interview, adding that he has made no final decisions on whether to begin the process of revoking Disney's ABC licenses.
"We haven't made a decision about when we're making a decision," Carr added, saying the agency will "follow the facts and the law and keep moving forward."
Carr has repeatedly said he wants to enforce the FCC's public interest obligation for broadcasters that use the public airwaves, which he says the FCC has failed to properly deploy for decades.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said on Tuesday 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."
The reviews were ordered a day after Trump urged ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
Broadcast stations need FCC licenses to use public airwaves. While license revocations are extremely rare, critics say the threat of losing a license can pressure broadcasters and raise concerns about government interference in editorial and programming decisions. Networks have broad First Amendment protections over programming choices.
Trump called in November for the FCC to revoke ABC's licenses after he criticized an ABC News correspondent for asking Saudi Arabia's crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist in a question the president described as "insubordinate."
The FCC is also investigating ABC daytime talk show "The View," which discusses U.S. politics, after saying it may be subject to federal rules requiring broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to political candidates. Disney noted that since February the program has not invited any political candidates to appear, citing the FCC’s "pressure campaign."
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Susan Fenton, Mark Potter and Mark Porter)
