ACLU Demands FCC Release Records Pertaining to ABC Early License Renewal, Alleging Agency’s Stated Rationale for Review ‘Does Not Seem Credible’

By Todd Spangler

Todd Spangler

NY Digital Editor

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The American Civil Liberties Union submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the FCC for records pertaining to the agency’s decision to require Disney’s eight owned-and-operated ABC stations to renew their broadcast licenses early.

“[T]his Request concerns whether the government is using its authority to illegally retaliate against broadcasters for saying something the government dislikes, and whether it is attempting to chill protected speech,” the ACLU said in the FOIA request, filed Tuesday. “The publicly released information about why the FCC is asking 8 ABC stations to renew their broadcast licenses early does not seem credible in context, and information about the FCC’s true motivations is not available publicly.”

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