FCC Slammed by Former Agency Officials Over Review of ABC’s Licenses: ‘An Assault on Free Speech Disguised as Regulatory Process’

The FCC and its current chairman, Brendan Carr, were blasted by former heads of the agency and other officials as pursuing a campaign to “censor Disney‘s and ABC‘s speech” with its highly unusual early review of spectrum licenses for eight ABC-owned TV stations.

In a filing Tuesday with the FCC, the officials — who served under Republican and Democratic presidents — urged the current agency to terminate the proceeding. In April, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued an unprecedented order forcing ABC to reapply for spectrum licenses for its eight owned-and-operated stations on an accelerated schedule. The move came just one day after President Donald Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over a joke the late-night host made about First Lady Melania Trump (Kimmel said Melania had “a glow like an expectant widow”).

“This early license renewal proceeding is unprecedented in the history of the Federal Communications Commission and a grave violation of both the Communications Act and the Constitution,” the coalition of officials wrote in the filing. “Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks to censor Disney’s and ABC’s speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don’t like at your peril.”