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Rogers takeover of Shaw goes to appeal court today

EXCERPT, CBC

Canada's Federal Court of Appeal on Tuesday will hear whether Rogers Communications Inc's hotly contested $20-billion bid for Shaw Communications Inc. can go ahead or be blocked as recommended by the Competition Bureau.

The proceeding in the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa is the antitrust bureau's latest attempt to kill the deal, saying the transaction will lessen competition in Canada's telecom industry, which has some of the highest mobile bills in the world.

But the bureau failed to convince the Competition Tribunal, a quasi court that handles merger disputes, that the deal is harmful for Canadian consumers. It was approved on Dec. 30.

Announced nearly two years ago, the deal has become a test case for the Competition Bureau's ability to increase choices for consumers in Canada, where a handful of companies control large swaths of businesses.

Competition Bureau takes fight to block Rogers takeover of Shaw to appeals court Tuesday | CBC News Canada's Federal Court of Appeal on Tuesday will hear whether Rogers Communications Inc's hotly contested $20-billion bid for Shaw Communications Inc. can go ahead or be blocked as recommended by the competition bureau.

US Justice Dept sues Google for allegedly planning to monopolize advertising market

EXCERPT, CBC, Associated Press

The US Justice Department and several states sued Google on Tuesday, alleging that its dominance in digital advertising harms competition.

The government alleges that Google's plan to assert dominance has been to "neutralize or eliminate" rivals through acquisitions and to force advertisers to use its products by making it difficult to use competitors' products.

The antitrust suit was filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Attorney General Merrick Garland was expected to discuss it at a news conference later Tuesday.

The DOJ's suit accuses Google of unlawfully monopolizing the way ads are served online by excluding competitors. This includes its 2008 acquisition of DoubleClick, a dominant ad server, and subsequent rollout of technology that locks in the split-second bidding process for ads that get served on web pages.

Google and Facebook are largely blamed for taking away much of the advertising Canada’s media market depends uoon, leading to a steady decline in revenues and mass downsizing.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/google-antitrust-1.6724368

Department of Justice files antitrust lawsuit against Google over advertising dominance | CBC News The Justice Department and several states sued Google on Tuesday, alleging that its dominance in digital advertising harms competition.

Catching Up on MediaPolicy.ca – Cultural Trade Wars, the sequel – the Rogers-Shaw-Québecor Pinãta – the online safety cauldron is bubbling – Terry Glavin in your face.

January 23, 2023

Last week MediaPolicy.ca published the second of two posts mining the history files for lessons learned about trade stand-offs with the US on cultural legislation.

The 1995 Country Music TV dispute seemed like a phony war, but the 1999 split-run magazine confrontation was the real thing. It was a genuine sound and fury and may still be influencing Heritage Canada’s approach to C-11 and C-18.

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Speaking of sound and fury, MPs on the parliamentary Industry committee (INDU) want to have another go at the Rogers-Shaw merger.

The committee’s first report in March 2022 condemned the merger and since then the agreement has been reconfigured by the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Wireless to Québecor and the Competition Tribunal’s approval of the three-cornered deal.

Appearances at this Wednesday’s day long meeting are scheduled for Rogers, Shaw and Québecor but also industry rivals Globalive Communications (which wants to buy Freedom Wireless) and the telcos’ tormentor-in-chief Tek Savvy. The Competition Bureau is also summoned.

The remainder of the witness list is loaded up with opponents of the deal so proceedings may resemble a robust game of piñata.

Tomorrow the Competition Bureau appears before the Federal Court of Appeal to challenge the Tribunal’s approval of the merger.

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The controversy of curating online speech continues to bubble in nations around the world.

The rights, responsibilities and liabilities of social media platforms are being regulated by legislators in some countries. But in the US it seems the Supreme Court is destined to become the regulator by default. There’s a good story in the New York Times on that.

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My read of the week: Terry Glavin’s thoughts on the CBC and trust in journalism. No endorsement offered (or sought), but Glavin’s fearless iconoclasm is as refreshing as ice water.

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