EFF Opposes AT&T/T-Mobile

The Electronic Frontier Foundation opposes the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA from our perspective as a participant in the public debate about network neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet Rules processes, and our long-standing interest in maintaining the favorable conditions for innovation and protecting consumer interests in wireless as well as wired networks.

One of the major contributing factors to the risk of non-neutral behavior by carriers is the lack of sufficient competition. Because of this, and because of our concerns about the FCC’s jurisdictional claims and the potential for unintended consequences of the proposed (and now adopted) Open Internet Report and Order, EFF has maintained that the preferable way to avoid discriminatory conduct and achieve network neutrality by carriers is through fostering competition and preventing the consolidation of market power. Thus, if the Administration, both the FCC and the Department of Justice, seeks to support a more neutral, more innovation-friendly digital communications infrastructure, it should use its efforts to assist in the creation of more competitors, rather than fewer. The merger thus represents a step in the wrong direction.