Disney says it will “vigorously” fight censorship

Disney opposed the motion in a filing yesterday, saying the “proposed intervenors lack a legally protected interest because the harm they invoke is harm to Plaintiffs, not to themselves. And the broader injury they claim on behalf of the viewing public is a generalized grievance shared by all viewers, which cannot support intervention.”

Disney said that it, ABC, and the ABC-owned stations “have every incentive to protect their own right to be free of unlawful retaliation” and will “vigorously contest Defendants’ unlawful, speech-suppressing conduct.” Disney said the groups and individuals can instead file an amicus brief to make their views known to the court “at the appropriate stage in the litigation.”

Art Belendiuk, a lawyer for the groups seeking to intervene, said in a statement provided to Ars that they will continue making their case to the court.

“The FCC’s pressure campaign against Disney has already forced the company to compromise its reporting and programming, as it outlined in its lawsuit, harming countless viewers across the United States. While Disney can argue that our interests are aligned, that may not always be true,” Belendiuk said. “Disney has a legal and fiduciary obligation to its shareholders, and its corporate interest is in preserving its licenses. My clients are fighting in the public interest to protect and preserve the integrity of the First Amendment. The American people deserve a seat at the table, and we are confident that the judge will agree.”

Disney acknowledged in its lawsuit that it changed coverage because of the FCC’s actions. With The View facing a separate FCC proceeding related to the equal-time rule, “ABC must now evaluate any invitation to a political candidate for its potential consequences, including whether it might later be cited by the Commission as a basis for non-renewal in the Stations’ impending license renewal proceedings,” the lawsuit said. The View hasn’t aired any interviews of political candidates since the FCC began the proceeding that could revoke the show’s bona fide news exemption to the equal-time rule.