The US government agency that regulates television says it is beginning to investigate Disney’s diversity and inclusion practices, with the latest indication that pressure is being applied to media companies.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Kerr wrote to Disney on Friday to notify the company and its ABC news unit of its plans.
He said the move was driven by concerns that the company was “promoting ‘diversity’ in ways that do not comply with government regulations.”
A Disney spokesperson said the company is reviewing the letter.
“We look forward to answering the committee and its questions,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
The FCC’s Disney investigation feels beyond the US, despite wider crackdowns on DEI practices by the Trump administration.
The French company with a US government contract received a letter this week from the US embassy in France and asked them to sign and comply with Trump’s executive order banning the day program.
The order states that “applies to all US government suppliers and service providers, regardless of nationality and country in which it operates.”
In a letter to Disney’s CEO Robert Iger, FCC Chairman Kerr said he wanted to ensure that media companies “will effectively end all discriminatory initiatives, not just their names.”
He added: “Disney Action – whether it’s ongoing or recently terminated, we want to determine whether it is in compliance with applicable FCC regulations at all times.”
Carr has been a member of the FCC since 2017 and was appointed by Trump in November to lead the agency.
Since being appointed to the Post, he has stepped up scrutiny of media companies, launched NPR and PBS probes, responding to requests from major high-tech companies, including Apple and Google, to the use of services that affect the ranking of news articles.
The FCC has also published a survey on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives of Verizon, Comcast and its media unit, NBCuniversal.
Disney, best known for its cartoon classics and theme parks, changed its DEI policy earlier this year.
“We’ve seen reports that Disney has recently returned some of its DEI programs, and there are still serious concerns,” Carr wrote in the letter.
“We want to ensure that Disney and ABC are not violating the FCC Equal Employment Opportunity Regulations by promoting the mysterious form of Dei discrimination,” he said.
Kerr said he wanted information, among other initiatives, about rules governing the character’s diversity representation.
This investigation is not the first time Disney has been a political target.
Last year, Star ABC anchor agreed to pay $15 million to settle the honour-loss lawsuit brought on by Donald Trump after he mistook the president to be “lived for rape.”
A New York ju-described earlier that Trump was responsible for “sexual abuse.” This has a specific definition under New York law.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also spent years rebutting with Disney after criticizing state law known to be “not gay” that restricts sexuality teaching at schools.
Disney was previously the target of conservatives who allegedly embraced the “awakening” message in the film.
