Commissioner says FCC may 'cherry-pick' comments amid ABC campaign

The Federal Communications Commission remained split on the topic of ABC at its open meeting on June 25, days after the network launched an on-air campaign asking viewers to submit comments to the agency in its defense.

The comments were submitted as part of separate ongoing probes into the Disney-owned ABC, one of which relates to the commission's equal time rules. The FCC initiated an "enforcement action" against the Disney-owned ABC in February after state Rep. James Talarico, D-Texas, appeared on "The View" while running in the state's Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

FCC chair Brendan Carr characterized it as a procedural matter at the commission's March open meeting, saying ABC hadn't submitted the proper paperwork declaring an appearance by a political candidate that would open the window for an opposing candidate to request "comparable time and placement."

Commissioner Anna Gomez, whom former President Joe Biden appointed in 2023, has rejected that notion, saying in the March meeting that the FCC "is using the equal time rule as a way to harass broadcasters for content that it disfavors."

In a May legal filing that accused the FCC of violating its First Amendment rights, ABC said the talk show has "been broadcasting under a bona fide news exemption granted to it more than twenty years ago."

Later that month, the FCC began accepting public input as to whether ABC should be exempt from the requirement to offer equal broadcast opportunities to political candidates. More than 50,000 comments had been filed as of June 25.

Separately, the FCC in April ordered the Disney-owned ABC to file license renewals for its eight television stations by late May − years ahead of schedule. The order said the commission was investigating the stations "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 Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels."

The FCC also sought public input on the license renewal matter, and nearly 40,000 comments had been filed on the matter as of June 25.

Carr called ABC's public campaign, which has involved both local and national television spots, a "fairly standard, off-the-shelf PR strategy." Net neutrality is another hot-button topic with significant public interest, he said.

The chair maintained that the FCC was "open-minded" amid the ABC proceedings, but Gomez was doubtful that public input would ultimately shape the outcome.

"I suspect this FCC will cherry-pick the submissions of partisan organizations to support its goal of silencing critics," she said.

Nevertheless, Gomez applauded the network's efforts to fight what she described as the FCC's "coordinated campaign" of "censorship and control."

"I'm glad to see them fight," Gomez said. "They need to do that. And it sends a message to the other broadcasters too. They can either stand up for the freedom of the press and the freedom of speech, or they can surrender. And I would rather they do the former."

USA TODAY reached out to Disney for comment.

BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.

USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Commissioner says FCC may 'cherry-pick' comments amid ABC campaign

Reporting by BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 5:32 PM.