FCC Chairman Accuses Disney of Misinformation Over ABC Investigations

Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, accused Disney of running a campaign of misinformation while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference USA 2026. The event took place on 27 March 2026 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.

Carr said Disney is using a standard public relations approach to litigate the cases in the media.

The Guardian reported that Disney-owned ABC began running advertisements earlier in the week that encouraged viewers to submit public comments supporting the network. The FCC has since received more than 51,000 submissions related to its investigation into whether the daytime talk show The View violated equal time provisions.

Nearly 40,000 additional submissions addressed the commission’s review of ABC’s license renewals for eight local television stations.

Carr stated that the FCC is enforcing provisions of the Communications Act passed by Congress. He added that the agency has not reached a decision on the matters and remains open-minded. Carr said the commission evaluates comments based on the facts and arguments presented rather than volume alone.

Anna M Gomez, the lone Democrat-appointed FCC commissioner, said the early license renewal process is designed to pressure Disney. She expressed doubt that public comments supporting ABC would affect the outcome and suggested the commission might cherry-pick submissions from partisan organizations.

Carr said all options remain on the table for the license renewals and that the timeline will be dictated by the facts and the law.