ABC and Disney accuse Trump admin of violating First Amendment rights

A striking development has emerged in artificial intelligence. Policy PolicyPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Policy Entertainment EntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All Entertainment Streaming StreamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

FollowSee All StreamingABC and Disney accuse Trump admin of violating First Amendment rightsThe network says the FCC’s actions threaten to chill speech. The network says the FCC’s actions threaten to chill speech. by Lauren Feiner Lauren FeinerSenior Policy ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Technical Details

FollowSee All by Lauren FeinerMay 8, 2026, 5:52 PM UTC Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Lauren Feiner Lauren FeinerPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Lauren Feiner is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform.

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.

” The agency’s big shifts allegedly include an attempt to reconsider an earlier FCC finding that The View is a bona fide news show eligible for an exception to the rule requiring equal air time for political candidates, and asking ABC to file its license renewal applications early in the midst of an investigation over Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) policies. The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “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.

“As the 2026 midterm election approaches, the American people need more access to political news and more exposure to political candidates, not less. ”“Uncertainty as to the scope of broadcast licensees’ editorial discretion threatens to limit news coverage of political candidates”The accusations, made in a filing dated Thursday, represents a shift from earlier brush-ups between the network and the Trump administration.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.