Liz Crampton

Opponents of AT&T’s plan to acquire Time Warner may have to rely on the Department of Justice as their sole federal option for blocking the $85.4 billion deal, as it looks increasingly likely that the Federal Communications Commission won’t review it. Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman, whose group opposes the merger, acknowledged as much Feb. 28 when he told state attorneys general that they needed to give the deal a closer look than they might otherwise would have. “I would urge you to look at it carefully as I’m not sure it will get as much scrutiny at the federal level as it would in the past,” he said. Without FCC review, the arguments against the deal have shifted away from a “public interest” standard to a narrower anti-competitive standard. That improves the chances for AT&T and Time Warner and makes the case more difficult for opponents.