What is happening between the FCC and ABC?
Created in 1934, the FCC is an agency that regulates communications across the United States. The FCC began an early review of ABC stations’ licenses in April, citing an ongoing investigation into whether the network “engaged in prohibited practices by hiring, promoting, compensating, and/or providing workplace opportunities to people based on race, gender, or other protected characteristics in violation of federal nondiscrimination laws.”
The agency’s announcement came just after President Donald Trump urged ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel in a post on Truth Social following a joke from the late-night talk show host about first lady Melania Trump.
However, Anna M. Gomez, the lone Democrat on the FCC, wrote a letter in May to Disney, the parent company of ABC, alleging that it is the target of a “sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control.”
Meanwhile, ABC’s “The View” has also drawn the ire of the FCC. The agency is investigating the show for possible violations of the “equal time” rule that requires broadcasters to provide equal time to political candidates who appear on the airwaves.
ABC accused the FCC of attempting to “chill critical free speech.”