ABC has started a First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC, claiming it is engaging in a “retaliatory campaign” because it doesn’t like what ABC is broadcasting.
The lawsuit was filed in a U.S.
District Court in Washington, D.C., early on Tuesday.It says that President Donald Trump’s administration is using the FCC to punish ABC, which is against the network’s First Amendment rights.
The lawsuit states, “Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” according to Deadline.
In February, FCC chairman Brendan Carr began “enforcement proceedings” against The View, possibly for breaking the “equal time” guideline.
Then, in April, the FCC announced an investigation into Disney, ABC, and its subsidiaries, possibly for breaking the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC rules, including rules against unlawful discrimination.This came right after an ABC late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, made a joke about Melania Trump being an “expectant widow.”
In a July filing, ABC accused the FCC of trying to censor its content.
The network said in the filing, “The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price.”
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