By: Steven C. Salop, Professor of Economics and Law, Georgetown University Law Center; and Charlotte Slaiman, Public Knowledge Competition Policy Director We generally agree with the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to rescind its 2015 Section 5 Policy Statement. Just as the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Merger Guidelines…

By: Harold Feld, Senior Vice President of Public Knowledge Urged on by broadband giants such as Charter Communications, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is pushing to confirm a Republican to the Federal Communications Commission. However, McConnell’s goal seems to extend further: creating a deadlocked Biden FCC 2–2, then blocking…

By: Alisa Valentin, Communications Justice Fellow at Public Knowledge, and Daiquiri Ryan, Co-founder of Neta Collab, LLC. In 2019, getting through everyday life requires connection to the internet — even in small town USA. Yet, struggling to connect to the 21st century’s most powerful tool is something rural communities in…

By: Jane Lee, Policy Fellow at Public Knowledge The Federal Communications Commission proposes changing the rules for the Educational Broadband Service (EBS), the educational, non-commercial portion of the 2.5 GHz band. About 40 years ago, the FCC initially designated this band as Instructional Television Fixed Service, which later became EBS…

By: Gene Kimmelman, President of Public Knowledge and former Chief Counsel in the Antitrust Division; and Charlotte Slaiman, Public Knowledge Policy Counsel Tim Wu’s latest book, “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age,” describes the enormous dangers arising from concentrated economic power and sends a critical clarion…

By: Steven C. Salop, Professor of Economics and Law, Georgetown University Law Center The trial of the AT&T/Time Warner vertical merger has now been completed, and Judge Leon has issued his opinion. The government lost. I am disappointed that the Department of Justice was unable to satisfy Judge Leon’s burden…

By: Gene Kimmelman, CEO & President of Public Knowledge, and Steve Salop, Professor of Economics & Law at Georgetown University Law Center Back in November, the Department of Justice sued to block AT&T’s proposed takeover of Time Warner. Among other things, the DOJ was concerned that the merger would give…

By: Steve Salop, Professor of Economics & Law at Georgetown University Law Center When news broke that the Justice Department is considering antitrust litigation to block a merger between AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc., critics suggested the move was purely political. Such vertical mergers, they argue, don’t pose a…

By: Courtney Duffy, Robert W. Deutsch Arts & Technology Policy Fellow at Public Knowledge — After more than six months of deliberation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released its opinion affirming the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order. …