Coalition Letter to Disney in Support of the First Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four free speech groups filed a joint comment with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking it to stop retaliating against ABC for the network’s editorial choices. Earlier this spring, the FCC called for 8 Disney-owned ABC stations throughout the country to undergo license renewal, all years earlier than required, in apparent retaliation for Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes about the Trump administration. The comment argues that the early license renewal is unconstitutional jawboning: “When the chairman of a government entity with complete power over the stations’ very existence wields that power to jawbone disfavored speakers, it cuts against the very core of what the First Amendment protects. If the government can keep disfavored media off the air, it can deprive the entire American public of a free media landscape – a landscape that is an essential pillar of not just our Constitution, but also our liberty and democracy.” “The FCC’s treatment of ABC is a clear and alarming abuse of power,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. “The administration cannot pressure networks to censor reporters, comedians, and critics simply because it doesn’t like what they have to say. That goes against the very core of the First Amendment and poses an existential threat to our democracy. The FCC must drop this proceeding now.” Tens of thousands of people have flooded the public comment docket in defense of ABC, Jimmy Kimmel, and the First Amendment. By law, the commission is required to review all comments that are posted during the public comment period. “Government officials cannot use their regulatory authority to coerce broadcasters into censoring or distorting protected speech. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening here,” said Ryan Morgan, policy fellow at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “These proceedings turn the FCC’s licensing authority into a tool for dictating which voices and viewpoints broadcasters carry. That’s precisely the kind of government coercion the First Amendment forbids.” Last year, the FCC pressured ABC to take Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air after President Trump criticized the show and Kimmel’s jokes about his administration. After an intense public pressure campaign, including an open letter signed by nearly 500 high-profile artists and over 40,000 people, the show was returned to air. “This is yet another example of the FCC crusade to bludgeon broadcasters into submission,” said Erika Sanders, counsel at the National Coalition Against Censorship. “There is zero doubt that Chairman Carr believes the mandate of the FCC is to serve as the chief enforcer of the President’s propaganda — a belief that is as wrong as it is dangerous to the freedom of expression.” The comment was submitted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), the Future of Free Speech, and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Earlier this week, the ACLU, NCAC, and 20 other advocacy organizations sent a letter to Disney thanking them for defending the First Amendment and encouraging them to continue fighting the FCC’s unconstitutional attacks. “When a license can be threatened over a joke or a newsroom’s editorial judgment, broadcasters stop waiting to be censored and start self censoring,” said Ashkhen Kazaryan, senior legal fellow at The Future of Free Speech. That is the chilling effect the First Amendment exists to prevent.”