Brian Fung

Tim Armstrong, a top Verizon executive, may be on the way out after struggling to turn the telecommunication company into a competitor to Google and Facebook, the Internet's preeminent digital advertising titans. Armstrong, the former AOL chief executive who joined Verizon when it purchased his company in 2015, is currently in charge of Oath, the Verizon subsidiary that contains AOL and Yahoo. Underscoring the story is the revelation that Verizon's digital advertising efforts have largely stalled.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to meet with state attorneys general in Sept 2018 to discuss whether tech companies may be “intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas.” The meeting will also consider whether tech platforms “may have harmed competition” with their actions, a hint that the Justice Department may be weighing antitrust action against the firms. Legal experts said the agency's announcement “clearly suggests” a willingness to intervene on behalf of conservative critics who say they are victims of discrimination by the companies. The Justice Department’s statement:

President Donald Trump suggested that NBC's television license should be “look[ed] at” in a tweet that called the network “FAKE NEWS.” But the Federal Communications Commission does not issue TV licenses to TV networks and cannot legally revoke an individual TV station's license based on the content of its programming. President Trump's tweet took aim at NBC's handling of journalist Ronan Farrow's reporting on Harvey Weinstein.

Sinclair Broadcast Group filed a countersuit in an escalating legal battle with Tribune Media, after the two companies' proposed merger fell apart this month under federal scrutiny. The counterclaim maintains that Sinclair “pushed hard" to secure regulatory approval for the proposed tie-up and called Tribune’s subsequent attempt to distance itself from Sinclair “self-serving.” Sinclair is asking a Delaware court to find that it was Tribune that broke the terms of the merger agreement.

The Trump administration is “taking a look” at whether Google and its search engine should be regulated by the government, said Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s economic adviser. “We’ll let you know,” Kudlow said. “We’re taking a look at it.” The announcement puts the search giant squarely in the White House’s crosshairs amid wider allegations against the tech industry that it systematically discriminates against conservatives on social media and other platforms.

In the wake of a customer-service backlash involving CA firefighters, Verizon is apologizing for slowing down the data speeds of first-responders — and says it will begin offering emergency workers a new unlimited data plan to avoid future mishaps. The telecom company also said it will refrain from imposing mobile data speed restrictions on first-responders on the entire West Coast for now as they continue battling some of the worst wildfires in the region’s history.

T-Mobile, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, said that it had discovered a data breach potentially affecting some of its customers' account information. No financial data was stolen in the incident, the company said, but some personal details such as customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and account numbers may have been compromised. In a statement on its website, T-Mobile said it uncovered the hack on Aug 20. The company “promptly reported it to authorities” and shut down the attack.

Tribune Media will withdraw from its $3.9 billion merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group, saying it would sue Sinclair for “breach of contract” over its failed negotiations with regulators over the deal. “In light of the FCC’s unanimous decision, referring the issue of Sinclair’s conduct for a hearing before an administrative law judge, our merger cannot be completed within an acceptable time frame, if ever,” said Peter Kern, Tribune’s chief executive officer. “This uncertainty and delay would be detrimental to our company and our shareholders.

New York attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout promised to “explore breaking up” Facebook and Google if she is elected, using state and federal antitrust laws. Standing in front of the Manhattan offices of the New York Daily News, Teachout said tech companies are to blame for dominating the online advertising market — drawing revenue from newspapers and publishers. Teachout’s remarks came a day after the Daily News in New York announced layoffs that reduced the size of its newsroom by half.

The Justice Department’s renewed effort to thwart AT&T’s merger with Time Warner rests on claims that a federal judge misunderstood “fundamental principles of economics,” according to court documents. Asking a federal appeals court to swiftly consider their case against the telecom giant, government lawyers said Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia erred by rejecting “basic bargaining economics” when he ruled to allow the $85 billion deal in June.