WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation into the broadcast licenses of eight local ABC television stations and ordered them to file for early license renewal over diversity measures that the agency said may constitute unlawful discrimination. The action targets stations owned by Disney.

A Disney spokesperson said, "Our stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information, and public-interest programming." The spokesperson added, "We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels."

Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez objected to the action. "This is the most egregious assault on the First Amendment that we have seen from this FCC," Gomez said. U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen also criticized the move. "The FCC can try to dress this up however they want, but this is just another flagrant attempt to silence Trump critics & stifle free speech," Van Hollen wrote on X.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution bans the government from prohibiting or abridging free speech. Efforts to revoke existing broadcast licenses are likely to face legal and administrative challenges and could take several years. The last time the FCC revoked a broadcasting license over a station's content was in 1969, when the agency acted against a local channel in Mississippi accused of discriminating against African Americans during the civil rights movement.