US: Warren backs DOJ over AT&T-Time Warner merger

Elizabeth Warren said she supports the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to block AT&T’s merger with Time Warner, while also expressing concerns about the agency’s autonomy under President Trump.

Warren said in a speech on Wednesday, December 6, that AT&T’s US$85 billion deal is an example of a merger whose scale poses a threat to competition and, consequently, consumers.

“By bringing together one of the nation’s leading content distributors and one of the world’s largest TV and entertainment companies, this merger invites higher prices, fewer choices and worse service for consumers,” the Massachusetts senator said during an event with the left-wing think tank Open Markets Institute in Washington, DC.

Warren however said that while she thought AT&T’s merger with Time Warner and others like it should not be approved by the federal government, the DOJ’s move to stop the merger still raises concerns.

“At the same time, the Justice Department’s move rings alarm bells. The President’s attacks on our free press have cast a cloud of suspicion over the decision to block the merger,” Warren said. “It’s essential that the courts and the public approach this case as they would any other – based on the law and the facts, and not on President Trump’s repeated efforts to punish his enemies.”

Full Content: Reuters

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