FCC accused of 'chilling speech' in ABC filing
By: BrieAnna J. Frank
USA today
..... ABC accused the Federal Communication Commission of "chilling speech ahead of the fast-approaching 2026 general election" in a July 6 [2026] legal filing submitted as part of an ongoing proceeding related to equal time rules.
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The FCC initiated an "enforcement action" against the Disney-owned ABC in February [2026] after Texas state Representative James Talarico appeared on "The View" while running in the state's Democratic Senate primary.
..... FCC Chair Brendan Carr has characterized the matter as a procedural issue, saying ABC hadn't submitted the porer paperwork declaring an appearance by a political candidate that would open the window for an opposing candidate to r4equest "comparable time and placement."
..... Commissioner Anna Gomez, a former President Joe Biden appointee, however, has accused the FCC of engaging in partisan political to support President Donald Trump's objectives.
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The FCC began accepting public input as to whether "The View" should be exempt form the requirement to offer equal broadcast opportunities to political candidates in May. [2026] More than 50,000 comments had been field by late June, [2026] when ABC launched an on-air campaign to encourage public participation in the matter.
..... ABC has maintained that the exemption the FCC granted "The View" in 2002 should remain in place, saying in its July 6 [2026] filing that the program "has not materially changed" since then.
..... The filing said the "overwhelming majority" of public comments supported ABC but responded to counterpoints raised by complimenters who opposed an exemption for the show.
..... to those who criticize "The View" fro being what they described as "opinion-driven," fro example, the network said denying an exemption based on perspective would be an unconstitutional "prototypical content- or viewpoint-based restrictions."
..... As for some comments' concerns about the ratio of right-leaning to left-leaning gusts, ABC said the notion of establishing a "government-approved ideological quanta" in the name of balance would be "not a regulatory standard, but a surveillance regime."
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The filing also accused the FCC of targeting "daytime and late-night television - programs perceived as unfriendly to the current administration - while leaving untouched the vast landscape of talk radio, where candidates routinely appear without their opponents."
..... In separate matter, the FCC in April [2026] order ABC to file license renewals for its eight television stations by late May. [2026] the order said the commission was investigating the states "for possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and the FCC's rules, including the agency's prohibition on unlawful discrimination."
..... Disney said in response that it was "confident" its "record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communication Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that thorough the appropriate legal channels."
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