The Trump administration is said to be investigating ABC’s “The View” over allegations that it doesn’t provide equal treatment for political candidates and parties.
A source at the Federal Communications Commission reportedly told Fox News Digital that the agency is examining the “fake news” morning program amid a crackdown on a rarely enforced rule designed to limit political bias on broadcast TV.
The show’s female panel, which includes former Trump administration adviser Alyssa Farah Griffin, is famously critical of the president and his allies.
The FCC’s probe reportedly hinges on the Communications Act of 1934, which calls for networks to give equal time to all legally filed candidates on a ballot regardless of political party.
The law was enacted to prevent broadcast stations from offering one-sided programming. It does “not apply to cable channels or other forms of distribution,” according to the FCC.
While the policy has historically not been rigorously enforced, the agency announced last month that it would formally require TV networks to adhere to the “statutory equal opportunities requirement,” specifically citing concerns over daytime and late-night talk shows on ABC, NBC and CBS.
“If a broadcast station permits any legally qualified candidate for public office to use its facilities, it shall provide an equal opportunity to all other legally qualified candidates for that office,” the FCC wrote in a public notice.
