The Justice Department is suing to block the AT&T — Time Warner merger, say reports

The Justice Department is poised to block the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner, according to a Bloomberg report. The Department of Justice has announced a public call concerning a “major antitrust matter,” but Bloomberg sources say the Department will be announcing a lawsuit against the proposed merger. Subsequent reports from Reuters and Politico confirmed the news.

First proposed in October of 2016, the $85 billion merger proposal has drawn criticism as a dangerous consolidation of the media industry, with The Verge’s own Walt Mossberg calling it “an unhealthy concentration of power between a distributor and a maker of content.” FCC chairman Ajit Pai publicly declined to review the merger earlier this year, leaving the DOJ as the only agency positioned to review the public impact of the proposed deal.

Combining the two companies would be particularly powerful because of the still-uncertain rules around streaming video to mobile devices. Streaming video represents a lucrative opportunity for digital media companies, but the associated data charges can be expensive for consumers. Carriers have responded with a string of zero-rated services that exempt certain video apps from data charges. That saves money for customers, but raises significant net neutrality concerns over which apps can benefit from the program. With the FCC currently rolling back the Open Internet Order, there would be few restrictions against favoring specific apps, giving a huge advantage to any video services aligned with the new conglomerate.

Recent reports have also raised concerns that President Trump may have inappropriately influenced the Justice Department’s review. As part of negotiations, the Justice Department proposed a sell-off of some of Time Warners media holdings, which include CNN, TBS, and Cartoon Network. Some reports indicated that CNN was specifically targeted for divestment, which raised concerns given President Trump’s frequent and often unhinged criticism of the network.