On July 29, the Knight Institute filed a comment with three other free speech organizations opposing an “almost unprecedented step” by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requiring eight Disney-owned ABC stations to renew their broadcast licenses years before they were otherwise due for renewal.

The FCC’s order requiring the ABC affiliates to renew their licenses early is the latest and most flagrant escalation of President Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s campaign against broadcasters based on constitutionally protected speech. It is the first time in more than 50 years that the FCC has demanded early renewal and the first time it has done so across a network’s entire suite of owned-and-operated stations.

This action, taken in clear retaliation for Disney’s refusal to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air after public demands from the president and first lady, is a textbook case of unconstitutional jawboning—an act of government pressure directed at an intermediary to censor or distort the constitutionally protected speech of a third party. As the Institute and its partners argue in the comment, the Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear that government officials are not permitted to violate the First Amendment indirectly by means of coercive actions any more than they are permitted to violate it directly.

The Knight Institute has been at the forefront of efforts to raise awareness about and address the problem of government interference with social media platforms. In December 2023, the Institute filed an amicus brief in Murthy v. Missouri urging the Supreme Court to clarify the First Amendment limits on government efforts to pressure speech intermediaries. In June, the Institute endorsed the bipartisan JAWBONE Act, led by Sens. Cruz and Wyden, which would create new safeguards against the kind of government coercion at issue in the FCC’s treatment of Disney.

See the full comment here.