The FCC won't have to vet Verizon's mobile video play—its proposal to buy AOL for $4.4 billion—but consolidation critics are already kicking the tires and saying “ouch!”
An FCC spokesperson confirmed there were no license transfers in the deal, which would have triggered an FCC review, though it will still need to pass muster with antitrust regulators, either the Federal Trade Commission or, more likely, Justice, which conducts Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust reviews of all deals valued over $75 million.
"In light of Verizon's efforts to collect data on customers with its 'Supercookie' for advertising, this raises some significant privacy and competition concerns," said Harold Feld of Public Knowledge. In addition to content, AOL is a major player in the online advertising market, adding "until the FCC resolves the question of how to apply the telecommunications customer privacy rules to broadband, there is a real danger that Verizon will share customer data collected from its mobile data and FiOS subscribers."
Free Press was quick to argue Verizon could better spend the money elsewhere.
"Verizon's acquisition of AOL is yet another example of how Wall Street's short-term mindset shortchanges competition and investment in American infrastructure," said Free Press research director Derek Turner. "For the price its paying for AOL, Verizon could deploy its FiOS broadband service across the rest of its service area, bringing much needed services and competition to communities like Baltimore, Boston and Buffalo. Instead, the company is spending a fortune to step outside of its core competency into the content production market, where it has already show a willingness to censor news coverage. It's hard to see how this transaction is good for anyone but a few brokers and lawyers..."
