Reject the AT&T-Time Warner Merger

[Commentary] Dear Acting Assistant Attorney General Hesse:
I am writing to urge you to block the proposed merger of AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. This proposed merger is just the latest effort to shrink our media landscape, stifle competition and diversity of content, and provide consumers with less while charging them more. Consideration of this deal should receive the utmost scrutiny, particularly because it involves a sector so fundamental to a free democracy. As Public Citizen notes, “this merger aims to concentrate far too much market, communications and political power in one corporation, threatening to impede the free flow of information, undermine the integrity of the Internet, raise consumer prices and further corrupt our politics.” In this particular merger, the diversity of programming would be further diminished by truncating the relationship of content and distribution. When one giant company owns both the content and the means of distribution, there is a clear disincentive to provide additional choices to consumers. In these so-called “vertical relationships,” not only is competition reduced, but there is a heightened, if not insurmountable, barrier to the influx of new content and diverse voices.

The media and telecommunications landscape is changing. It is important that public policy concerns guide these changes, so that we may preserve our democratic discourse and open competitive markets for speech and commerce. That is the function of our antitrust laws. I ask you to enforce them and block the proposed merger.