Court case

As our economy becomes increasingly digitized, more transactions are moving online and outside of local tax jurisdictions, costing states billions in lost sales tax revenue. The recent Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair has opened the door for states to collect sales tax on online purchases made at out-of-state businesses. Applying state taxes on interstate commerce could not only recover lost revenues, but also make national e-commerce companies more invested in state government.

The Justice Department argued that US District Judge Richard Leon ignored “fundamental principles of economics and common sense” when he allowed AT&T to acquire Time Warner. The department’s appellate brief, filed with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, argued Judge Leon’s ruling was “clearly erroneous in light of the evidence presented at trial.” The government brief argued Judge Leon’s contrary conclusion came about because he “discarded the economics of bargaining” and failed to apply “the foundational principle” that corporations will aim to maximize their

The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission requested that the Supreme Court vacate a 2016 appeals court decision upholding net neutrality rules adopted by the FCC in 2015. If the court decides to grant the motion, the previous decision to support the rules would be removed, clearing the path for re-litigation in the future when it comes to classifying broadband. If the DOJ and FCC’s request is approved by the court, the previous rules, spearheaded by then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, would be voided from the judicial record.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has set briefing deadlines in the challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality repeal. Mozilla, state attorneys general and other groups fighting the FCC’s rollback will file their arguments Aug. 20. The Internet Association, Computer & Communications Industry Association and other organizations bolstering their case will file Aug. 27. The FCC has to respond Oct. 11, and the telecom associations backing the agency, including CTIA and USTelecom, will file their briefs Oct. 18. Final briefs in the case are due Nov. 27.

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has declined to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's restoration of the UHF discount on the grounds that the parties challenging it--Free Press, Prometheus Radio--did not have standing to bring the challenge. That could be a big boost to broadcast mergers and acquisitions, though it might not be the big boost for the Sinclair-Tribune deal given the FCC's other problems with the deal. The UHF discount means that only half of a UHF TV station's audience counts towards the 39% national ownership cap.

[Commentary] To be sure, the Department of Justice has a right to appeal [the Sinclair/Tribune decision], and it has done so well within the 60 days allowed from the handing down of the Judge Leon decision on June 12.

Watch for network neutrality arguments in future antitrust analysis of mergers, competition lawyers said. The Justice Department’s high-profile attempt to block AT&T from buying Time Warner didn’t address the possibility that the AT&T customers could see slowed internet traffic for some content. But that kind of argument could come up one day. The DOJ has looked at past merger cases on the grounds of its impact on open internet access said Ketan Jhaveri, a former trial lawyer at the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

[Op-ed] The court decision allowing AT&T to acquire Time Warner is an example of the inability of our current system of courts and enforcement to prevent the decline in competition in the modern US economy. In the case of that merger, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice gets credit for making an attempt to block what it viewed as an anti-competitive transaction. What’s more, that view proved prescient after the now-merged firm almost immediately raised prices after executives testified that the synergies from the deal would immediately cause lower prices.

1. What exactly did Google do wrong here? The European Commission has ruled that Google has been unfairly using Android (which Google owns and develops) to push Google Search (which makes up most of Google’s business) on users, giving them an unfair and uncompetitive advantage.

On July 9, President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. This week, we examine some of Judge Kavanaugh’s decisions on key communications policy issues, like net neutrality, the First Amendment, and surveillance. At 53, Kavanaugh is relatively young, consistent with President Trump's desire to appoint judges who can serve on the High Court for decades. Since 2006, Kavanaugh has served on the U.S.