July 2019

Justice Department Requires Structural Relief to Resolve Antitrust Concerns in Nexstar’s Merger with Tribune

The Department of Justice will require Nexstar Media Group and Tribune Media Company to divest broadcast television stations in thirteen markets as a condition of resolving a challenge to the proposed $6.4 billion merger between Nexstar and Tribune. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the offices of three state Attorneys General, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed merger.

T-Mobile, Sprint deal at final major hurdle: State AGs

The $26 billion T-Mobile–Sprint deal faces one last major hurdle as a group of state attorneys general look to block the telecommunications mega-merger in court. “The state attorney general lawsuit has a lot of legal and factual merit,” said Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a former state attorney general who has been critical of the T-Mobile–Sprint deal. “No one can predict what the outcome in courts is going to be, but they have a lot going for them,” he added. The group of 13 attorneys general, along with Washington (DC), are moving forward with their litigation to block the merger, which

Cisco to Pay $8.6 Million to Settle Government Claims of Flawed Surveillance Tech

Cisco Systems agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle claims that it sold video surveillance technology that it knew had a significant security flaw to federal, state and local government agencies. Cisco will pay civil damages in connection with software that it sold to various government agencies, including Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Disconnected: Seven lessons on Fixing the Digital Divide

The Kansas City Fed launched a project in early 2018 to outline issues of the digital divide and identify innovative approaches that communities were taking to narrow it. This report provides a summary of what we learned and opportunities for narrowing the divide. It is not intended to be a technical report.