On August 18, 2026, Disney and ABC sued the Federal Communications Commission. The lawsuit cites FCC Chair Brendan Carr's order in April of this year to review the broadcast licenses of eight ABC stations, even though those ‌license renewals ⁠were not scheduled to be considered prior to October 2028. The lawsuit claims that the Trump administration is trying to punish the network over its broadcast content.

The FCC said the early reviews were the result of a year-long investigation into whether Disney's diversity policies amounted to unlawful discrimination. The reviews were ordered one day after Trump urged ABC to ​fire late-night host Jimmy ⁠Kimmel.

The lawsuit states:

Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC's speech — the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air. Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.

The consequences of the Administration's campaign against free speech reach well beyond ABC. If the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government. In such a world, the press could in no way be described as free. The FCC Chairman has left little doubt that this is his goal.