On Sunday, President Donald Trump expressed his backing for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke the broadcasting licenses of ABC and NBC News, labeling these media organizations as an “arm of the Democratic Party.” However, existing laws and regulations for the FCC would hinder any attempt to execute this threat.
The President posted online, questioning, “Why aren’t ABC and NBC FAKE NEWS, which are among the most biased and worst networks globally, paying Millions of Dollars annually in LICENSE FEES?” This statement followed his claim that these outlets represent a “threat to our democracy.”
He further stated, “They ought to have their Licenses revoked for their biased reporting against Republicans and/or Conservatives. But at the very least, they should pay significantly for the exclusive right to use the most valuable airwaves at any given moment!!!”
The FCC, however, issues licenses only to “individual broadcast systems,” not to entire networks like ABC and NBC, as the agency has clarified. Furthermore, the First Amendment and the federal legislation establishing the FCC prevent the agency from dictating the programming content networks broadcast.
The agency states that broadcast stations could violate FCC regulations if they knowingly release false information leading to “substantial public harm” that could have been “foreseen,” or if there’s clear proof they intentionally “rigged or slanted” the news. However, the FCC typically avoids addressing complaints about “one-sided news reports or comments,” explaining that doing so would be “inconsistent with the First Amendment” by substituting the journalistic decisions of licensees with its own.
These recent remarks from the President are consistent with his past demands for networks, including ABC and NBC, to lose their broadcast licenses. Former chairs of the agency have previously countered such threats, highlighting the boundaries of the FCC’s power.
“By law, the FCC lacks the power to revoke a broadcast station’s license purely based on the content of a specific newscast,” stated then-FCC Chair Ajit Pai in 2017. This comment followed Trump’s suggestion to challenge NBC’s license due to a story about the President’s interactions with his national security advisers.
“As I’ve previously stated, the First Amendment is fundamental to our democracy. The FCC neither does nor will revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disapproves of or dislikes their content or coverage,” then-Chair Jessica Rosenworcel commented last year. This was after Trump hinted that CBS News should lose its license because of how it edited a “60 Minutes” interview featuring 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Rosenworcel cautioned then, “Although the former President’s repeated attacks on broadcast stations might now seem common, these threats to free speech are grave and must not be disregarded.”
In contrast, current FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who has suggested changes to the agency aligned with the conservative policy initiative Project 2025, has supported Trump’s call for the revocation of licenses for the three main broadcast networks. Carr also criticized NBC for featuring Harris on Saturday Night Live just days before the 2024 election, highlighting the federal law requiring media outlets to offer presidential candidates equal airtime.
Trump’s threats regarding network licenses are part of wider attacks on the media by the President and his associates. Last year, Trump and anchor George Stephanopoulos after Stephanopoulos made an incorrect claim about the outcome of a civil lawsuit against Trump. In December, the media company agreed to a $15 million payment towards Trump’s presidential library to resolve the case. More recently, Paramount, CBS’s parent company, settled with Trump for $16 million in his lawsuit concerning the editing of the “60 Minutes” interview.
These settlements have worried media organizations and, following Paramount’s decision to settle with Trump, legal experts expressed concerns that such cases might contribute to a reduction in U.S. press freedoms and promote self-censorship within newsrooms.
Since then, Trump has multiple entities linked to the Wall Street Journal after it ran a story claiming he sent a birthday letter to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, and a Journal reporter from Air Force One during an international journey.
Public media has also faced recent criticisms. Earlier this month, the , an organization that helps fund NPR and PBS, declared it would begin closing down. This decision came after a law passed by Congress and signed by Trump withdrew $1.1 billion of its funding.