By Scott Wallsten
Published in The Hill on May 28, 2015
After Charter and Time Warner Cable announced their intention to merge, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler released a statement noting that “an absence of harm is not sufficient” to approve a merger. But it should be. Why would the government block a merger it believes isn’t bad?
Perhaps Wheeler felt the need to backpedal after reportedly calling Charter and Time Warner Cable CEOs last week to assure them that he’s not opposed to all mergers. Even so, his statement again raises the question of how the FCC evaluates mergers.
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