The Process Is The Punishment: ABC v. FCC With Stuart Benjamin

ABC is challenging the Federal Communications Commission, arguing that the agency is using its licensing authority to punish the network for its coverage and political viewpoint. First Amendment scholars Jane Bambauer and Eugene Volokh are joined by Duke law professor Stuart Benjamin to examine the lawsuit, the FCC’s unusually broad “public interest” power, and the special rules that have long governed broadcast speech. They discuss allegations of retaliation and pretext, the chilling effect of costly government investigations, and whether this dispute could prompt the Supreme Court to reconsider broadcasters’ second-class status under the First Amendment.

Recorded on August 25, 2026.