Court case

AT&T announced it had completed its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner. The Justice Department still has 60 days from the date of the ruling to file an appeal, even if the companies close the merger, and such a filing remained a possibility. There was a time limit on when the government could seek an injunction, because the merger agreement between the companies expires on June 21. If an injunction had been granted, the companies would have had to extend the date or AT&T would have had to pay Time Warner $500 million in what is known as a reverse termination fee.

The Justice Department has agreed to let AT&T complete its purchase of Time Warner, according to joint government filings, likely clearing the way for the deal to be completed as soon as June 15. A federal judge ruled June 12 that AT&T's $85.4 billion bid for Time Warner was legal, imposing no conditions on the merger. The government had the option to seek a stay, delaying the merger for a designated waiting period, but has forgone that option. The Justice Department can still appeal the decision, even after the completion of a merger.

The dissolution of net neutrality regulations and the AT&T/Time Warner decision could shape the internet for years to come. 

Judge Richard Leon issued a stinging rebuke to the Justice Department's attempt to block AT&T's $85 billion bid to acquire Time Warner. But that doesn't mean the case is over. The Justice Department can appeal the ruling, and the department's antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, is considering that option.  "I think the constitution and the statues allow for due process for all litigants and we will take a look at what the next steps are," Delrahim said.

[Commentary] The government's insistence on bringing such a weak lawsuit [AT&T/Time Warner] does not bode well for the immediate future of antitrust. There are going to be plenty of mergers over the next few years that will have far more serious consequences than the AT&T-Time Warner deal. Having been slapped down in this lawsuit, the Justice Department is unlikely to be willing to go after those worthier targets, even when they raise important issues of innovation and consumer choice.

Two pivotal developments this week could dramatically expand the power and footprint of major telecom companies, altering how Americans access everything from political news to “Game of Thrones” on the Internet.

Disney’s offer to buy 21st Century Fox. CVS’s bid for Aetna. T-Mobile’s proposed merger with Sprint. The path for these blockbuster deals and others could be transformed in an instant on June 12, when a federal judge is expected to issue his opinion on the government’s effort to block AT&T’s merger with Time Warner. It is one of the most influential antitrust cases in decades, enthralling Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Madison Avenue. If the merger is blocked, some executives are likely to slim down their deal aspirations.

A decision by the three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit could make it harder for the Federal Trade Commission to enforce online data security, or that is certainly the conclusion of Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Though, it is narrowly tailored to apply to a specific FTC enforcement tool.

A court struck down far-right figure Charles C. Johnson’s lawsuit against Twitter which banned him in 2015 after he sent a tweet asking for help to “take out” high-profile Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson. The California Superior Court in Fresno granted Twitter’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, finding that it was a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) action.

AT&T has given up its years-long quest to cripple the Federal Trade Commission's authority to regulate broadband providers. Just weeks ago, AT&T said it intended to appeal its loss in the case to the US Supreme Court before a deadline of May 29. But May 31, AT&T informed court officials that it has decided not to file a petition to the Supreme Court and did not ask for a deadline extension.