Bill attacks algorithms designed to raise prices and limit competition

The DOJ’s antitrust division saw record enforcement under Kanter.

The department reviews major telecom deals but isn't seen as a bottleneck for currently pending transactions.

It's the latest action of more than three years of aggressive antitrust enforcement shepherded by FTC Chair Lina Khan.

Justice Department's antitrust division is proposing the punishment as a 'remedy' in case against the search engine giant.

'Additional consolidation in the market would have far-reaching effects, reducing choices for consumers,' Senate Democrats say.

The dispute has been described as the Blue Bubble (iPhone) vs. Green Bubble (Android) debate.

Google has been found guilty in an antitrust trial brought on by video game company Epic Games.

The FTC may be able to convince the district court that Amazon is sustaining a monopoly markup, said Herb Hovenkamp.

The FTC’s statute on consumer protection that ‘prohibits unfair deceptive practices’ extends to AI, said Kahn.

The Fifth Circuit ruled that the administration overstepped in coercing social media platforms to take down misinformation.

The agency’s aggressive approach to antitrust under Chair Lina Khan has sparked controversy.

Widespread AI applications could lead to a dramatic uptick in online disinformation, Pichai warned.

The NTIA is seeking comment in light of the quickly growing potential of generative AI chatbot technology.

Panelists disagree on the effects of two antitrust bills intended to promote competition.

Watch the start of the Big Tech & Speech Summit from March 9. Sign up for full webcast.

Wilson accused Chairwoman Lina Khan of defying legal precedent and abusing her power.

The NTIA claims that Apple and Google take advantage of their app stores to put unfair limitations on their competitors.

Summit moderators will set the stage for timely discussions on content moderation, privacy and competition.

It will be the first time TikTok’s CEO will appear for a congressional hearing.

The lawsuit accuses the company of abusing a monopoly over the technology that controls the digital advertising market.

The summit, live in Washington, will address Biden’s recent challenges to Big Tech: Section 230, privacy and competition.

Rep. Ken Buck said tech companies’ practices are anticompetitive and threaten innovation, free speech and national security.

Biden’s call for federal privacy legislation aims to address an increasingly splintered state privacy landscape.

Legislators from both sides of the aisle are calling for increased regulation of Big Tech.

AT&T’s new Gigapower joint venture will build fiber outside the company’s current footprint.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking each state's BEAD grant application window.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking fixed wireless access subscriptions.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking wireline broadband subscriptions.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking wireline broadband subscribers by technology.

White House effort seeks to implement a universal label to verify meeting U.S. cybersecurity standards.

SiFi Networks will construct an all-fiber network for 40,000 households in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Participants voiced concerns over alleged abuses by big tech companies.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr doubled-down on previous criticism of the agency’s exclusion of Starlink.

Academics were concerned about an anti-preference bill, while one state AG said he’s ‘pragmatic’ about a federal privacy law.

Phillips told Politico that he is leaving the competition watchdog this fall.

Legislation currently before Congress will hurt American tech’s global competitiveness, event hears.

‘We need to recognize that absolutely the time is now. It is neither too soon nor too late.’

A March Gallup and Knight study found young Americans are less concerned about hurtful online discourse.

Amy Klobuchar released revisions last week to antitrust legislation that would strengthen prohibitions on anticompetitive conduct and mergers.

Noah Phillips said Tuesday he wants the commission to think about the impact of antitrust rules on rising prices.

American Innovation and Choice Online Act is intended to protect fair competition among businesses, but panelists differed on its impact.

A Yale economics professor called on the FTC and DoJ to make it easier for them to pursue harmful mergers.

Commissioner Christine Wilson attributes poor results of FTC staff satisfaction surveys to the officials’ leadership.

ISP challenge was holdout after Department of Justice dropped a similar suit.

Dish enlists Samsung for 5G deployment.

Letter claims antitrust bills would cost the economy $319 billion.

Twitter’s board is reportedly re-considering Musk’s $43 billion cash offer.

Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf warned against government intervention in online moderation.

The head of the ITIF criticized DOJ and FTC antitrust enforcement that he said could impair American’s global position.

The DOJ and FTC are working together to enforce antitrust laws.

Antitrust lawyers are concerned about a chilling effect over-regulation could bring.

Forty-three state attorneys general signed a letter urging TikTok and Snapchat to have friendlier parental control policies.

Meta and Google face allegations that they coordinated advertising practices to lock out their competition.

Senators released declassified material on the CIA’s bulk data collection program.

Targeting Apple and Google Play stores, bill forbids 50 million+ user marketplaces from requiring developers to use in-app payment options.

Former Chairman William Kovacic said that Biden’s direction of the FTC raises expectations for the agency.

He argued that fundamental changes must be made to restore peoples’ faith in an American system that works for everyone.

The deal would elevate Microsoft in an even more favorable position in the games-as-a-service market.

Klobuchar was able to rally Democrats and Republicans to support her bill, but its future depends upon a shaky alliance.

To find the best way to regulate technology, antitrust regulators need more tools to maintain fairness in the digital economy.

Big technology companies faced hurdles in 2021 — and it’s only the beginning of a Biden administration crackdown.

It is in Amazon’s interest to twist the arm of lawmakers and prevent protections against internet scams.

An American Enterprise Institute panel proposed Congress increase regulator resources rather than actively try to hinder Big Tech.

Panelists at TechFreedom event said judiciary will prevent the FTC from developing proposed antitrust policies.

Trade association doesn’t like new antitrust bill, Charter makes changes at the top, T-Mobile leads wireless, Verizon on wireline.

While some advocate for a tightening of language, other experts believe Section 230 should not be touched.

Lightbox publishing new broadband map, Epic Games suffers loss in Apple antitrust case, 2021 Community Broadband Awards announced.

The FCC outlines September meeting agenda, the FTC will review big tech mergers this month, AT&T signs deal with OneWeb.

Nearly 60 public interest groups signed a letter to House leaders to call a vote on six antitrust bills.

Noah Phillips voiced concern about the scope and practices of the Biden administration’s FTC.

Dish wants low-cost prepaid business Gen Mobile, Members of Congress want investigation into Facebook-Google, STL appoints Paul Atkinson.

Democrats divided on when to move infrastructure bill, FCC awards 2.5 GHz licenses, antitrust lawyer Sayyed to TechFreedom.

T-Mobile sued over breach, Google hopes judge reconsiders data reveal, UTOPIA Fiber expands into Syracuse City.

FTC mounts another complaint against Facebook, Amazon warns third-party sellers about antitrust, Tesla autopilot investigated.

At Aspen forum, a red-hot focus on Big Tech, antitrust and consumer welfare.

Verizon sees an opportunity to acquire and neutralize an important competitor, but the FCC should stop that.

Democratic lawmakers want end to calls to recuse Lina Khan, dissatisfaction with prices, Starlink comparable to fixed-wireless.

FTC commissioners were split at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday at the prospects of increasing FTC jurisdiction.

FCC prioritizes mid-band spectrum, proposed antitrust bill will damage startups, Amy Klobuchar’s proposed Section 230 reform takes on heat.

In the fourth in a series of explainers, Broadband Breakfast examines the Biden administration’s intent to bash Big Tech.

FCC investigating radio interference on island, Euro court to decide on Google in November, FSF says passive infrastructure access needed.

Facebook follows Amazon in asking for recusing Khan, Entry-level broadband prices fell, FCC has Open RAN showcase.

Executive order would kickoff new antitrust and net neutrality regulations.

Google faces another antitrust lawsuit, ILSR calls for state lead on broadband, LA Times suggests focus on network future.

In a party-line vote, the agency rescinded a 2015 statement that limited the scope of antitrust enforcement.

Legal experts and economists disagreed over the feasibility and necessity of a global standard for antitrust enforcement.

A federal judge tossed the FTC’s antitrust case against Facebook out of court Monday.

Democrats have decided they’re against Big Tech. A smarter GOP would sense the opening and take it.

An inside look at the package of antitrust bills marked up this week by the House Judiciary Committee.

CTA CEO said abolishing intermediary liability protections violates private industry protections against government interference.

Antitrust and technology experts say that Congress’s new antitrust package is legally flawed and politically motivated.

Tech execs have begun to speak out against a new package of proposed antitrust bills in Congress.

Legal and policy experts are split over how effective Klobuchar’s proposed antitrust legislation could be.

During a panel hosted by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, three expert discussed the effect of antitrust legislation on big tech. The panelists all defended big tech from antitrust laws and urged many to be cautious about claiming they have the solution to regulating these compl

Biden willing to go $65B on broadband, Republican infrastructure plan, gigabit opportunity zone bill, David Ige’s telecom past.

Lina Khan continues toward FTC role, Biden makes cybersecurity order after Colonial Pipeline, and U.S. joins the Christchurch call.

Co-author of “The Amazon Jungle” says Section 230 has allowed Big Tech to get away with far too much.

Senator Josh Hawley talks Section 230, antitrust reform, and the Capitol riots.

New York sued over $15 internet, Apple faces EU antitrust allegations, California surveys conclude, and 5G device adoption grows.

Senate Commerce Committee considers nominations for Lina Khan, Bill Nelson and Leslie Kiernan.

Sen. Klobuchar, Rep. Cicilline and experts discuss antitrust, big tech and local journalism.

April 12, 2021 – Senator Josh Hawley, R-MO, shared with Axios a new proposal that would bar corporate giants from acquisitions and strengthen century-old antitrust laws. “This country and this government shouldn’t be run by a few mega-corporations,” Hawley told Axios. The Republican Party “has got t

March 23, 2021 — A federal judge ruled Friday that the San Francisco city leader unlawfully denied T-Mobile permits to upgrade infrastructure during the pandemic. The ruling was made under the 2012 Spectrum Act, which prevents State or local government from denying improvements and upgrades to exist

March 17, 2021 – A new antitrust bill by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, is receiving high praise from current and former commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission for its focus on enhancing resources required to tackle competition issues. “I think we could use more money still,” Noah Phillips, comm

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2021 – A House committee on Thursday heard of the need for strengthened antitrust measures to stem the influence of big technology companies, which are alleged to have increased its stranglehold on data on the internet. The committee heard of Google’s and Facebook’s overwhelming

February 16, 2021 — After being abruptly removed from web servers by tech giants on January 10, the controversial social network Parler returned online on Monday.   Parler is a social network dominated by right-wing users which, following the removal of former President Trump from Twitter, grew in p

Panelists include: Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Avery Gardiner and Geoffrey Manne. Moderated by Drew Clark, Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

February 8, 2021—On the 25th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said that Congress should revisit the law to address modern demands for broadband and bringing service to underserved communities. The Telecom Act had many

February 2, 2021 – Democratic Sen. Ed Markey’s communications policy focus this Congress will be on net neutrality, children and climate change, the long-serving Massachusetts lawmaker said at a Federal Communications Bar Association event Tuesday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Telecommuni

January 28, 2021—America is now facing consequences resulting from years of inaction on antitrust, said former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler during Wednesday’s antitrust session at the State of the Net Conference. America has waited too long to act on antitrust and regulatio

January 28, 2021—Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said the administration of President Joe Biden needed to address competition and privacy in a speech concluding the State of the Net Conference on Wednesday. In the middle of stating that large U.S. corporations are growing at an unprecedented rat

January 27, 2021 – With a focus on the power of big technology platforms, antitrust and competition issues faced by the Biden Administration are at the highest levels of hyperpolarization ever, observed panelists from the left and the right at the State of the Net event on Wednesday. The insurrectio

January 22, 2021—President Joe Biden designated Rebecca Slaughter as acting chair of the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday. Slaughter has served as an FTC Commissioner since May 2018. As a commissioner, Slaughter championed aggressive use of the FTC’s authorities to combat the abuse of consumers’

January 20, 2021—“We must look forward to the future in our uniquely American, bold and optimistic way,” said President Joe Biden during his inauguration on Wednesday. Recalling the words Abraham Lincoln uttered after writing the Emancipation Proclamation, Biden said “my whole soul is in this.” “The

January 20, 2021—When data gathering and usage are the lifeblood of the digital ecosystem, combating monopolies in the big tech industry will take more than just antitrust lawsuits, said industry experts during a Technology Policy Institute panel on Tuesday. Antitrust litigation undervalues how much

December 17, 2020 — As many as 38 state attorneys general filed the latest antitrust suit against Google on Thursday. The suit alleges that the company has operated an illegal monopoly in online search and search advertising markets. This will be the second antitrust lawsuit filed against Google in

December 9, 2020 — Facebook has used illegal monopoly power and an “unlawful scheme” to stifle competition, degrade personal privacy, and crush rivals, according to two separate antitrust lawsuits filed Wednesday by 46 state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission. In particular, the FTC

December 1, 2020 — Experts recommended the incoming Biden administration take a trial-and-error approach to antitrust policy, during a Brookings Institute webinar on Tuesday. The new administration should “use litigation as a tool for learning,” said Matt Perault, associate professor and director of

November 22, 2020 – In the event that the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden seeks substantial funding for broadband infrastructure, there is a strong likelihood that such monies would be channeled through a reverse-auction mechanism, said panelists at the Broadband Breakfast Live

November 16, 2020 – Officials associated with INCOMPAS, the Internet and Competitive Networks Association, on Thursday predicted that there would be action on net neutrality sooner than expected with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden. Predicting that the new administration wou

November 9, 2020 — Two technology policy intellectuals said on Friday at the Reboot conference that the “techlash” may due for a comeuppance. Gigi Sohn, distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology and Policy, and Techdirt Founder Mike Masnick critiqued the techlash movement a

November 9, 2020 – At a formal debate on whether technology platforms require a new regulatory regime, two well-established experts also clashed over how seriously policy-makers should take the recent House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee report on breaking up big tech companies. In the Technology

October 30, 2020 — An American Enterprise Institute webinar on Monday criticized the House Judiciary Antitrust Committee’s recent report, calling it politically-motivated and criticizing it for lacking sources and transparency. “If you believe that there should be a much more politically motivated a

October 20, 2020 — In the midst of the largest lawsuit against a tech giant in decades, Google, the Technology Policy Institute hosted a conversation with two current and two former Federal Trade Commissioners discussing the state of antitrust in the United States. The Tuesday event aired as part of

The Justice Department’s antitrust division plans to sue Google today for engaging in anticompetitive conduct to preserve monopolies in search and search advertising, senior Justice officials said today. When officials began investigating Google last September, the case was focused on Google’s adver

October 17, 2020 – Responding to the landmark report of the House Judiciary Antitrust Committee on October 6 about how to deal with big tech companies, two panels addressing the report on October 9 reprised significantly different perspectives. At an event hosted by Public Knowledge that featured th

October 13, 2020—A presidential administration led by Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden would bring substantive changes to the enforcement of antitrust law, panelists predicted at a Brookings Institution event on October 6. Bill Baer, an expert in antitrust law and visiting fellow of g

October 12, 2020 – Because the network effects of digital platforms makes it hard to prove harm to consumers, it is difficult to rein in the monopoly power of big tech companies. That was the message at Georgetown Law Center event on Tuesday included as part of the 14th Annual Global Antitrust Enfor

October 11, 2020 — House Democrats on Tuesday proposed a massive overhaul of U.S. antitrust laws that could make it easier to break up giant tech companies. If elements of the 449-page proposal are implemented in legislation, it could be a profound re-writing of the relationship between Big Tech and

October 6, 2020 — As technological advances allow for more data to be generated on consumers, the public has become more attuned to the need for national data privacy legislation. Yet there is a countervailing trend: Data portability as possible antitrust remedy against dominant tech platforms. On M

September 16, 2020 — Both Republican and Democratic senators on Tuesday grilled a top Google official at a hearing just weeks before the U.S. Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against the search engine giant. Throughout the antitrust subcommittee hearing, senators focused o

August 5, 2020 — The five leaders of the Federal Trade Commission testified together before a Senate panel for the first time in nearly two years on Wednesday. The FTC is charged with maintaining a competitive marketplace and protecting consumers’ personal information, and members of the U.S. Senate

August 4, 2020 — Panelists in a Tuesday Brookings Institution webinar discussed their takes on the historic House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on July 29. The hearing brought the CEOs of four of Silicon Valley’s most affluent businesses — Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google — together to

Google and Facebook have extraordinary control over information and communications systems in the United States. These two corporations dominate internet search, social media, and digital advertising, and each one serves as the gateway to the internet for billions of people. Google and Facebook have

July 30, 2020 – Several of the companies featured in Wednesday’s blockbuster big tech hearing need to be broken up, House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., said at the conclusion of the nearly six-hour hearing. “This hearing has made one fact clear to me: These compa

July 28, 2020 — The CEOs of four of the world’s biggest technology companies are preparing to defend their rapidly-expanding businesses in a blockbuster hearing Wednesday. The meeting of the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee will see members grill the heads of Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple

June 16, 2020 — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced a new rule on Monday which he claimed will ensure the country’s telecommunications industry is able to fully contribute to global standards development activities. The new Bureau of Industry and Security rule allows licenses previously

May 7, 2020 — Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., head of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, said Thursday that he will not lessen the intensity of his investigation into anticompetitive practices potentially committed by big tech. Cicilline expressed concern

March 26, 2020 – Washington groups focusing on broadband and technology policy are beginning to adapt to the all-livestream format – and recognizing some unique benefits – such a fluid global interconnectedness. For example, in the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s Thursday antitrus

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2020 – Google took several punches at a March 10 Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. Sally Hubbard, director of enforcement strategy at Open Markets Institute, conceded that big tech companies like Google “started on their paths to dominanc

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2020 – “Is this third industrial revolution over? And if so, why?” That was the question Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen posed to the attendees of the Free State Foundation conference on Tuesday. “Some say innovation in the U.S. has been on the decline for the past two de

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2020 – David Lawrence, chief of the competition policy and advocacy section of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, called the telecommunications industry, relative to all other industries, “the goose that lays the golden egg.” Lawrence praised competition in telecommuni

Over twenty members of Congress sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Friday asking for clarification on the changes to the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund  announced during the agency’s vote to approve the program on January 30. In a last-minute change, the FCC elim

A New York federal court on Tuesday refused to block the planned $56 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, Law360 reports, rejecting a challenge by 14 state attorneys general to the deal. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero issued an order siding with the companies, and with the U.S. Justice De

The European Union requested documents from Facebook to determine whether Facebook partially awarded users data to special third-party applications, The Wall Street Journal reports. This action comes in the wake of a $5 billion fine levied against the social media juggernaut by the Federal Trade Com

WASHINGTON, February 6, 2020 – Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim surveyed the antitrust and merger landscape from the Crystal Room of the Willard Hotel using the example of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. He defended it for allowing rural communities to have better broadband. Delrahim, who overs

The results from the Democratic Caucus in Iowa remained delayed, and the technology snafu is being blamed on an app designed to tabulate results that was made by Shadow, Inc., according to multiple press reports. The New York Times cites a person familiar with the app as saying that concerns about p

A tense debate over curbing the power of the biggest companies in high tech broke out at CES 2020 in Las Vegas late Thursday. Speakers agreed that antitrust laws were not well-suited to handle the challenges posed by high tech, but divided over the merits of sweeping regulation. As the presidential

House Energy Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., sent a letter Monday to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai regarding the lack of transparency in the FCC’s approval of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. Pallone and Nad

WASHINGTON, December 6, 2019 – Antitrust enforcement must adapt to the changing structures of the media market, according to experts at a Capitol Forum conference Thursday. Economic change, said Jonathan Kanter of Paul, Weiss, has introduced questions about the goals of enforcement as well as how to

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that his office reached a settlement with T-Mobile, resolving the state’s antitrust claims against the proposed merger of mobile wireless telecommunications service providers Sprint and T-Mobile. The terms of the agreement commit the new T-Mobile to

WASHINGTON, November 14. 2019- Despite the approval of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, 16 state attorneys general are still determined to block the acquisition. Policy experts at Thursday’s Capitol Forum conference advocated both the

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Tuesday introduced the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act, Public Knowledge reports. The bill would provide interoperability for social media users, promoting competition and ena

Big technology companies were a big target during Tuesday night’s debate in Ohio of the leading Democratic presidential candidates. No new candidate joined Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s pledge to break up Facebook, Amazon and Google, with the possible exception of billionaire climate activis

Comcast is emerging as an antitrust foe against big tech companies such as Google, according to US News and World Report. Last month, Comcast’s video ads division FreeWheel accused Google of using privacy concerns as a pretext to limit FreeWheel’s ability to resell ads of its customers YouTube chann

WASHINGTON, September 25, 2019 – A Senate Judiciary subcommittee devoted to antitrust on Tuesday grilled witnesses about what appeared to a dearth of startups, and also expressed concern about a lack of antitrust enforcement. Determining which acquisitions are beneficial and which aren’t is not as e

WASHINGTON, September 17, 2019 – Congress on Tuesday put a spotlight on federal antitrust investigators scrutinizing Google and Facebook, as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee honed in on whether the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission were wasting efforts by investigating the

WASHINGTON, September 10, 2019 – The political world is all abuzz about breaking up big tech companies, but the overly broad breakup remedies being proposed by many are inconsistent with antitrust law as articulated by the Supreme Court, said Taylor Owings, counsel to the Assistant Attorney General

It seems that everyone except California and Alabama wants in on the action, whatever that action is, against Google. Attorneys general for 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on Monday announced an antitrust investigation, although not a lawsuit, against search engine giant Goo

Two separate bi-partisan groups of state attorneys general on Friday confirmed that they are launching antitrust investigations into tech giant companies Google and Facebook. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, on Friday announced that she and eight other state attorneys general wil

ASPEN, Colorado, August 20, 2019 – More than a dozen state attorneys general have launched an antitrust investigation of big tech giants, and they are working cooperatively with the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said Makan Delrahim, the division’s head. “We come at this with no preconceiv

WASHINGTON, August 14, 2019 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Wednesday issued a final order (PDF) that would approve the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. But the negotiations over the proposed transaction between the two telecom companies continues at the state level “

A recent report from the CoBank Knowledge Exchange detailed new insights into successful broadband partnerships. The report, written by economists Jeff Johnston and Tom Binet, found that partnerships between Rural Local Exchange Carriers and Electric Distribution Cooperatives are uncommon, but can b

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2019 — The Justice Department’s recently announced settlement on the T-Mobile/Sprint merger has drawn widespread criticism, even though the agreement maintains four nationwide carriers by drawing Dish Network into the marketplace. Dish has fiercely defended its ability to quickl

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2019 – Privacy legislation and antitrust action don’t normally get discussed together. Yet as big tech firms are increasingly under fire from competition authorities, privacy law becomes a potential tool against social media and search engine giants. At FiscalNote’s Privacy and

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2019 — The efficacy of antitrust enforcement against big tech companies was energetically debated at an Internet Governance Forum conference on Thursday. The current consumer welfare standard sufficiently supports robust antitrust merger analysis, claimed Keith Klovers, an attor

The Department of Justice announced Friday that it and the Attorneys General for five states reached a settlement with T-Mobile and Sprint regarding their proposed merger. The settlement requires a substantial divestiture package in order to enable a viable facilities-based competitor to enter the m

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2019 — Facebook, Amazon, and Apple stocks dropped on Tuesday after reports of a broad antitrust review of big tech by the U.S. Department of Justice surfaced. The review will “consider the widespread concerns that consumers, businesses, and entrepreneurs have expressed about sea

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2019 – Television broadcasters’ main bête noire used to be the cable industry, known more formally as “multichannel video programming distributors.” But the changing media landscape is forcing the National Association of Broadcasters to look for new rivals like AT&T, Dish Networ

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2019 – In the House Judiciary Committee’s second hearing putting tech giants under the microscope, both the Democratic majority and some members of the Republican minority attempted to squeeze the companies into greater political compliance. At a Tuesday hearing featured witness

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2019 — Rather than seeking to break up big technology giants, Congress should instead focus on ratcheting up regulation of the online platform players to curb their greatest abuses, public interest advocate Harold Feld argued on Monday. Feld, the author of the recent e-book, “Th

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2019 — Talking tough against Silicon Valley may be popular. But breaking up big tech will be hard to do. That, at least, was one of the key messages coming from the American Antitrust Institute’s annual conference here on Thursday. While progressives and populists are resurgent

The political turmoil and guess-manship over the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint merger continues, with 10 state attorney generals filing a lawsuit in New York last week in a federal district court. Unusually, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice did not join the lawsuit. It’s not the first

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2019 — The practices of Google and Facebook were closely scrutinized at a House Antitrust Subcommittee hearing Tuesday, and the companies’ impact upon the digital news media came in for particularly stark criticism. Some said that these major tech platforms were making it diffic

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2019 – Social media and technology platform companies are wasting the talents of a generation, addicting and impoverishing middle America, and even driving teenagers to commit suicide in record numbers, Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday. In a blistering speech attacking Facebook, Goo

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Google is beginning to enter into hunker-down mode. The company is finally alive to the grave new threats that it faces. They are two-pronged: More-intensive antitrust scrutiny, and regulation of privacy/AI/Section 230 free speech. As Drew Clark wrote about for a CATO In

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2018 – The former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sharply criticized the president and his Justice Department’s antitrust division for promoting certain outcomes in recent antitrust actions. At a Technology Policy Institute panel on the AT&T/Time Warner merge

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2018 – Was a federal district court judge’s decision to permit AT&T’s merger with Time Warner a victory for the rule or law over politics – or was it instead another defeat for the consumer at the hand of ever-consolidating mega-entities? That question permeated Tuesday’s confer

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2018 – A federal district judge on Tuesday ruled that AT&T can proceed with its $85 billion merger with entertainment giant Time-Warner, spurning Justice Department arguments that the allowing the deal to proceed would harm consumers by driving up cable television costs. Distric

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2018 – AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson on Friday announced that the company was parting ways with the executive responsible for hiring Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen in an apparent effort to grease the skids for the company’s merger with Time-Warner. The revelations of the AT&T payment

Telecom attorney Jonathan Lee takes down the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s specious case against the AT&T/Time Warner merger in this detailed blog post, excerpted below. (Click on the link at the bottom for the whole argument.) Here’s the money quote: “This alleged harm is simply t

American energy production has increased substantially over the past few years.

As data centers proliferate, Nuclear Energy is potentially ready for a revival.

Cryptographic technologies and blockchain ledgers are driving a new era of decentralized finance.

Mobile communication has become a central part internet connectivity.

The internet has the potential to impact, and also to enhance, society's democratization.

Section 230 is sometimes called the 26 words that created the internet.

Whether broadband providers may prioritize delivery of bits by the entities they own is a divisive topic.

Open Access networks separate network operations from internet services. Ownership may also be separate from operations.

The pandemic has prompted a new era of funding for broadband infrastructure.

Because Rural America is often the least-connected region in the country, ensuring coverage is central to BEAD.

Wireless technologies are critical for mobile communications, and for being able to reach remote locations.

Satellite broadband remains an option those areas beyond the reach of fiber, terrestrial or mobile wireless.

The Universal Service Fund, codified in 1996 with the Telecommunications Act, remains the foundation of universal access.

Data Centers and Cloud Computing rely upon robust and high-speed upload and download internet speeds.

Tribal leaders say the federal government has failed to uphold its trust responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of Native American tribes.

The 5G wireless standard promises breakthrough in capacity, speed and dynamic spectrum-sharing capabilities.

Wireless Internet Service Providers play an important role in delivery of fixed wireless broadband.

We need humans to make digital inclusion work.

Technology, particularly broadband access and adoption, plays a vital role in K-12 and secondary education.

The innovations of telehealth and mobile health care has transformed medicine and health care.

Ensuring that emergency communications are enabled with broadband is the next frontier in public safety.

Broadband internet service allows many people to work from almost anywhere.

Digital locks and keys are necessary, but not sufficient, to ensure cybersecurity.

The scourge of robocalls is making America's once-vaunted telephone network less trustworthy.

The BEAD program is implemented by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department.

The last three years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of communities building publicly-owned, locally controlled infrastructure.

The entire concept of privacy has been transformed by broadband and the internet.

Accurate broadband mapping and data has been central to America's broadband buildout.

Cities of the future rely on high-speed internet access and advanced fiber and wireless connectivity.

The infrastructure necessary for advanced energy also powers the infrastructure necessary for high-speed internet.

Self-driving cars are one of many advances to come for smart cities and communities.

Drones and airborne transportation are one of many advances to come for smart cities and communities.

Artificial intelligence is poised to transform humans' relationship with technology, and each other.

Social media plays a powerful force in the lives of most adults and teenagers.

Debates about the role of free speech have been transformed by broadband internet services.

Semiconductors are the world’s new oil.

Whether licensed, unlicensed or shared, radio frequency spectrum is the critical resource for wireless communication.

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2013 – The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday announced their approval of the proposed merger of mobile wireless carriers T-Mobile and MetroPCS. Two years after the two agencies nixed AT&T’s attempted acquisition of T-Mobile on antitrus

WASHINGTON, August 31, 2011 – With the Justice Department’s announcement on Wednesday that it will contest AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, the attention should now turn to what some consider the deal’s key driver: getting more wireless spectrum into the hands of broadband providers.

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2011 – Sen. Al Franken (D-MN.) sent a filing to the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice Tuesday requesting the denial of the merger between wireless carriers AT&T and T-Mobile. Less than 24 hours after AT&T submitted its most recent economic model to

BOSTON, April 13, 2011 – Panelists at the Free Press National Conference for Media Reform railed on the Federal Communications Commission over the weekend, debating to what extent the Commission has been “captured” by industry and how to fix it. Joel Kelsey, Political Advisor at Free Press, moderat

WASHINGTON, February 22, 2011 – After Apple recently broke its exclusivity agreement with AT&T and brought the iPhone to Verizon, our panel discusses whether consumers suffer from a lack of choice in handsets between carriers what effects that may have on the wireless marketplace. Additionally, the

December 23, 2009 – The United Kingdom Competition Commission said Tuesday (PDF) [http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/press_rel/2009/dec/pdf/56-09.pdf] it will clear the proposed merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, but United States and Canadian antitrust regulators are still reviewing [htt

WASHINGTON, November 10, 2009 – The United States and European Union antitrust regulatory bodies are at odds over whether Oracle Corporation should be allowed to go through with its proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems. While the U.S. has not found any issues with the proposed merger, the EU has

A Congressional workshop will examine the proper application of antitrust policy to the information technology sector and scrutinize the direction the new administration is taking. The workshop will occur on October 16 in the Rayburn Office building. The workshop has the potential to explore how the

WASHINGTON, August 24, 2009 – Apple, Inc. and AT&T on Friday filed responses with the Federal Communications Commission in which both companies strenuously denied that Apple’s removal of the Google Voice application from Apple’s iPhone App Store was for anticompetitive reasons.

SAN JOSE, November 6 – It was Kevin Martin’s day to suck up praise from Silicon Valley. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission – for about two more months – came to the Wireless Communications Association’s annual conference here on Thursday to be feted by many Googlers, including company co-founder

WASHINGTON, June 25 – The congressman who represents the headquarters of telecommunications giant AT&T used a Wednesday subcommittee hearing on the impact of online advertising to raise concerns about the recent agreement between Google and Yahoo!

Network Neutrality was the key sticking point in a Tuesday presidential debate, by proxy, between two former chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission chairmen: Reed Hundt and Michael Powell.