Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and his staff are fond of taking to Twitter to assert that, in the just over two months since the repeal of the FCC’s 2015 network neutrality rules took effect, the “Internet remains free and open” — and that opponents’ concerns that unconstrained broadband providers will…
Writing
ProMarket: Would Sen. Warner’s Ambitious Plan to Regulate Social Media Giants “Ruin” the Internet—Or Save it?
After two years filled with privacy scandals, antitrust fines, and disturbing revelations, legislators on both sides of the Atlantic are finally beginning to come up with policy proposals to address the numerous threats posed by unchecked digital monopolies. In the UK, the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has…
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Media
Gigi Sohn Statement on Tribune Ending its Merger with Sinclair
Just moments ago, Tribune Broadcasting announced that it would abandon the sale of its TV stations to Sinclair Broadcasting Group and sue Sinclair for breach of contract. Last month, the Federal Communications Commission published an order setting the merger of Sinclair and Tribune for a hearing before an administrative law…
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Inside Cybersecurity: Consumer advocates cautiously optimistic about FTC rulemaking authority on data security
Recent testimony by new Federal Trade Commission chief Joseph Simons has buoyed supporters of arming the commission with more proactive authority to protect consumer privacy and data security, but it’s still far from cause to start prepping any champagne, some of those advocates say. In testimony before the House Energy…
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Politico: Are Sinclair’s Problems Just Getting Started?
A favorable presidential tweet and a court win on a crucial FCC regulatory loophole may have buoyed Sinclair Broadcast Group as the conservative broadcaster faces the daunting prospect of a lengthy administrative hearing over its Tribune merger. But the “lack of candor” the FCC flagged when it sent the deal for review could dog…
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Bloomberg Law: Net Neutrality Could Become a Merger Antitrust Issue. Someday.
Watch for net neutrality arguments in future antitrust analysis of mergers, competition lawyers said. The Justice Department’s high-profile attempt to block AT&T Inc. from buying Time Warner Inc. didn’t address the possibility that the AT&T customers could see slowed internet traffic for some content. But that kind of argument could…
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Media
XM-Sirius PopPolitics: ‘Dark Money’ Shows the Personal Cost of Out-of-Control Cash in Campaigns
Gigi Sohn, distinguished fellow at Georgetown University, explains what she sees happening with media mergers and government scrutiny. (more…)
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Bloomberg News: Justice Dept. Has Good Reasons for Appealing AT&T Ruling
The Justice Department might not be able to reverse a blistering district court opinion refusing to block the $85.4 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc., which has closed, but a reversal isn’t the only reason the DOJ might want to risk appealing that opinion. Judge Richard Leon…
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Broadcasting & Cable: Deal Critics to Tribune Board: Abandon Merger or Quit
A quartet of high-profile Sinclair-Tribune deal critics have gotten together to urge Tribune to pull the plug on the deal, a deal the FCC says it has major issues with and has designated for hearing on issues of Sinclair candor and possible misrepresentation. That came in a letter to Tribune…
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Politico: EU to drop the hammer on Google
The European Union unveiled a $5 billion dollar fine against Google this morning, the latest salvo in an antitrust battle, POLITICO Europe’s Mark Scott, Simon Van Dorpe and Thibault Largerreport. The penalty is the largest ever levied against a single company by the EU, exceeding the $2.8 billion fine on Google…