WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) – Disney-owned ABC said Friday the Trump administration’s efforts to declare its daytime talk show “The View” is subject to equal time rules for political candidates are invalid, and threaten the network’s free speech rights.
In February, the FCC said it was investigating whether “The View” violated equal time rules for interviews with political candidates, after an appearance by a Democratic Texas Senate candidate after the FCC said daytime and late-night TV talk shows are no longer considered “bona fide” news programs that are exempt from equal time rules.
ABC said the FCC’s actions go beyond the agency’s authority and “threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to The View and more broadly.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson)
