Consumer advocates concerned about monopoly power said Tuesday that while the Justice Department’s decision to block AT&T’s plans to take over Time Warner is the right one, President Donald Trump’s motives for objecting to the merger are questionable.
“Blocking this merger is the right thing to do—and we hope the Justice Department is doing it for the right reasons,” said Craig Aaron of Free Press in a statement. “This deal would give AT&T way too much power to undercut competitors and raise costs on TV viewers and internet users everywhere.”
The DOJ mounted a lawsuit on Monday to block AT&T’s $85 billion bid for Time Warner, the parent company of a number of cable channels including CNN, with which Trump has had a contentious relationship.
The deal would concentrate an unprecedented amount of news and entertainment production in the hands of the country’s largest telecommunications company, the possibility of which has led to bipartisan antitrust concerns.
Trump has complained about the news media’s coverage of allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, and has attacked the news outlets numerous times since entering office in January.
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