AT&T Lawsuit Over Time Warner Shows Tough Turn on Antitrust
- Trump’s antitrust chief demanded asset sales to win approval
- Similar deals have been settled with behavioral conditions
AT&T Prepares for Court Battle Over Time Warner Merger
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The U.S. lawsuit to stop AT&T Inc.’s takeover of Time Warner Inc. has sparked accusations that the Justice Department, driven by political meddling from the Trump White House, is pursuing a risky case that it’s bound to lose.
Yet the move actually follows a mainstream approach to antitrust policy that sees risks to competition even from mergers that don’t combine direct competitors. The difference this time is the hard line drawn by the government on how to fix the resulting harm.