FCC's competition unit swims against the tide; a new 'SWAT team' ferrets out media monopolies as a GOP-dominated Congress clamors for deregulation

Article Abstract:

The Federal Communications Commission's 10-month-old Competition Division has raised hackles within both the agency and the industry it regulates. FCC chief Reed E. Hundt claims the new unit will help stimulate competition, but an anti-regulatory Congress is taking a dim view. Several companies have complained about arbitrary and unexpected reviews of mergers and other activities that the Justice Dept or the Federal Trade Commission have already approved, thus delaying action in a swiftly changing market.

Regulation and Administration of Communications, Electric, Gas, and Other Utilities, Cable TV Systems Operators, Federal Communicatns Commisn, Regulation, admin. of utilities, Competition (Economics), United States. Federal Communications Commission, Cable television broadcasting industry, Cable television, Deregulation

---

Media megamergers: no problem? Time Warner's bid to buy Turner may draw enforcement scrutiny of the FTC

Article Abstract:

Few antitrust regulators expect the proposed ABC-Disney merger to encounter regulatory problems, though the potential Turner Broadcasting-Time Warner merger may draw unusual scrutiny. The two cases, along with that of CBS and Westinghouse, are inviting attention to the effects of changes in the law and in regulatory practice. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky wants his agency rather than the Justice Dept's Antitrust Division to have authority over such transactions.

Telecommunications, Administration of General Economic Programs, Telephone Communication, Cable TV Networks, Admin. of general economic programs, Federal Trade Commission, Mergers, acquisitions and divestments, Telecommunications industry, Mass media industry, Time Warner Inc., TWX, United States. Federal Trade Commission, Cable networks (Television), Vertical integration, Turner Broadcasting System Inc., TBS

---

Rule: integrating Windows is not predatory; Charles Rule predicts the preliminary injunction against Microsoft will fall

Article Abstract:

Charles Rule, legal consultant to the Microsoft Corp and former head of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Div, claims Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson went too far with his contempt proceeding against Microsoft for violating an injunction barring the bundling of the Internet browser with the Windows operating system. Rule points out Microsoft's integration of various products leads to definite efficiencies and benefits.

Analysis, Microsoft Corp., Marketing, Interview, Unfair competition (Commerce), Unfair competition, MSFT

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Banks' encroachment on insurers' turf pits state lawmakers against the OCC, and may well bring in Congress and the Supreme Court
• Abstracts: Heist whodunit turns into a case of fraud: what started out as a heist ended up as a tug of war over who should pay for the loss
• Abstracts: Companies on new list more lawyer-intensive; list of firms most in demand has changed little since a year ago
• Abstracts: ALI's Restatements of the Law. Adventures of corporate counselor. Legal researcher's big brother
• Abstracts: Unlocking encryption and digital signatures. Presenting the Internet. Fighting back against junk e-mail

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.