FCC Chair Targets Disney: Investigation Launched Into Company’s DEI Practices

Although Disney revised its DEI efforts in February, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a letter he was not satisfied with the changes.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr indicated on March 28 that he would be investigating whether Disney’s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices violate the FCC’s equal employment opportunity regulations via a letter he sent to the company outlining his concerns.

According to Deadline, Carr sent a letter to Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, announcing his investigation on the grounds that Disney had not done enough to appease him regarding its DEI practices.

“While I have seen reports that Disney recently walked back some of its DEI programs, significant concerns remain,” Carr informed Iger in the letter.

Carr indicated that the FCC has authority due to ABC’s status (ABC is owned by Disney) as a regulated entity, and according to Carr, the rules of the FCC and the Communications Act establish that regulated companies are prohibited “from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age or gender.”

Although Disney revised its DEI efforts in February, focusing more intently on belonging through a talent strategy factor, which a company memo says assesses “how leaders uphold our company values, incorporate different perspectives to drive business success, cultivate an environment where all employees can thrive, and sustain a robust pipeline to ensure long-term organizational strength,” this was not enough to avoid an investigation from Carr, which he hinted at in a similar memo to Comcast in February.

However, Anna Gomez, one of only two Democrats on the FCC and its de-facto voice of resistance, indicated in remarks to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that she believes Carr is overstepping his authority as FCC chair during his investigations.

Gomez told the chamber that she believes “private businesses all over the country are under attack” and urged businesses “not to stay silent” before expanding on those sentiments further.

“Government should have no business trying to roll back these efforts. (DEI) It is not only detrimental to small businesses and companies that know exactly what their customers want, it is also dangerous.” Gomez told the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Many of you are the children of parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents who escaped countries where aggressive government intervention in the private sector and government censorship led to disastrous consequences.”

Carr has largely done Trump’s bidding, in some cases going well beyond his directives, which, as The Hollywood Reporter indicated, are largely derived from a Project 2025 chapter Carr authored. This chapter hints at the suppression of the national media and his indications that the American news media, in general, is untrustworthy, a point he made to Iger in another letter he sent to the CEO in December.

According to Victor Pickard, a professor of media policy and political economy at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication, the outlet’s description of Carr as “off the leash” is apt.

Furthermore, Jessica J. González, the co-CEO of Free Press, a progressive Washington D.C.-based group focused on media regulation reform, indicated that Carr’s tactics are concerning.

“I think Brendan Carr’s objective is not unlike Viktor Orbán’s in Hungary. There’s a much broader play to quash the independence of media systems,” González said.

According to González, Carr “is more dangerous” than Donald Trump or Elon Musk.

Meanwhile, Pickard cited Carr and Trump’s proclivity to engage in costly lawsuits against national media outlets as a cause for concern.

“The fear of getting dragged into something expensive is what does the trick. Just knowing they could attract attention is what keeps them supine and not asking tough questions. It keeps them meek. I think we should be very scared,” Pickard said.