The US telecoms regulatory agency is taking a close interest in the activities of the big-eared company. Since his inauguration, Donald Trump has made banning DEI his hobbyhorse. He signed an executive order declaring them "illegal" within the federal state. Drawing their roots from the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960s, DEI are programs aimed at equal opportunities for all employees, regardless of their gender, sexuality, or or their ethnic and social origins. Large companies like Disney, Apple, and Facebook had made these measures a priority. In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg's company, for example, guaranteed that half of its workforce would be from minorities by 2024. The firm has since abandoned these initiatives to fall in line with the Trump administration.
Disney had also made significant changes, by deleting its web page (Reimagine Tomorrow) dedicated to highlighting personalities and stories from underrepresented communities. At the same time, warnings for content that presents negative representations of certain peoples and cultures have been replaced with more concise warnings. The Federal Communications Commission will nevertheless conduct an investigation. The president of the institution informed the big-eared firm through a letter relayed by AFP and 20 Minutes.
It reads: “I am concerned that ABC and its parent company have encouraged and may still encourage unfair forms of DEI, in a way that is not consistent with FCC regulations”. Brendan Carr adds that promoting diversity has affected its business in recent years, and “in a way that has infected many aspects of your company's decisions.”
Disney will cooperate
In her letter, Brenda Carr evokes a change in approach from the big-eared company. “I want to ensure that Disney ends any discriminatory initiatives in substance, not just in name”. He adds: “For decades, Disney focused on box office and blockbuster programming. But something has changed. Disney is now embroiled in a wave of controversy surrounding its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
A Disney spokesperson told the Guardian that the letter is being reviewed and that Disney staff will work with the regulator to address its concerns. This is not the first time the Federal Communications Commission has investigated entertainment and news companies in the United States. Last February, Brendan Carr also launched an investigation into Comcast and NBCUniversal to "eradicate the scourge of DEI." Few companies have stepped up, including Apple, which voted last February against a proposal to eliminate the company's DEI initiatives.
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