The Justice Department on Thursday filed notice that it is appealing a judge’s approval of AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner.
Judge Richard Leon, who presided over the lawsuit the DOJ had brought to block the deal, ruled last month that the government had failed to show that the deal violates antitrust law
AT&T has since re-named the division WarnerMedia, created as a separate unit from the rest of the company, in part in case of an appeal.
The Justice Department sued to stop the deal last year, saying that a distributor, AT&T, owning the likes of HBO, CNN and Warner Bros. would harm consumers by causing an increase in prices and would hurt innovation and competition.
Now the case will go to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel will hear the appeal.
