FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the licenses of Disney-owned ABC and Comcast unit NBC, stating that the move would be unconstitutional. Trump made the comments during a prime-time speech, where he claimed that networks that did not air his speech should have their station licenses revoked.

First Amendment Protections

Gomez noted that the broadcasters’ editorial decisions are protected by the First Amendment, and the FCC has no authority to punish a station for refusing to air a political speech. She described Trump’s call as a ‘naked attempt to bully broadcasters,’ and stated that the FCC should not be involved in the matter.

Revoking a broadcaster’s license requires a multi-step process and a decision by an administrative law judge, which could be appealed to the full FCC and the courts. Networks have broad First Amendment rights to decide what they broadcast, and historically, they have carried most presidential speeches on the grounds that they provide information of public importance.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.