Donald Trump · The Verge
ABC and Disney accuse Trump admin of violating First Amendment rights
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 outlet. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
The network says the FCC’s actions threaten to chill speech.
Key facts
- Before President Donald Trump resumed power, ABC also agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit he brought over host George Stephanopoulos’ characterization of a jury finding
- ABC’s filing was signed by well-known Supreme Court litigator and former President George W
- ABC is accusing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of violating its First Amendment rights by making “major shifts in policy and practice” that the network claims will chill free speech
- The network says the FCC’s actions threaten to chill speech
Summary
ABC is accusing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of violating its First Amendment rights by making “major shifts in policy and practice” that the network claims will chill free speech. The network is asking the FCC to “affirm its long-standing approach to the bona fide news interview exemption” for daytime talk show The View and the agency’s support of “public interest services provided by broadcast stations.” ABC says that a series of actions from the FCC “suggests that the Commission is implementing major shifts in policy and practice,” and that “requires the action of the full Commission and the oversight of the courts.
“Uncertainty as to the scope of broadcast licensees’ editorial discretion threatens to limit news coverage of political candidates and chill core First Amendment-protected speech for years and potentially decades to come,” the network writes in the filing. “Uncertainty as to the scope of broadcast licensees’ editorial discretion threatens to limit news coverage of political candidates” The accusations, made dated Thursday, represents a shift from earlier brush-ups between the network and the Trump administration.