[Ecommerce] Quick notes why the AOL acquisition of Time-Warner should be stopped:

[James Love]

Quick notes why the AOL acquisition of Time-Warner should be stopped:

1.	AOL is the single most important force today in advocatingfor open
access to the cable broad band platform.  If this merger is approved,
AOL s interests will be fundamentally changed.

2.	AOL is a direct competitor to Time-Warner as an Internetcontent
provider on broad band services.  

3.	One relevant market for AOL and Time-Warner as contentproviders is
for providing navigation and interface services to Internet users - such
as menus for electronic commerce.

4.	If AOL can buy Time-Warner, will a Microsoft/AT&T merger befar
behind?


5.	AT&T and Time-Warner are both trying to set up broad bandinternet
services that can discriminate among content providers, and effectively
degrade services offered by competitors.


People who know about this include:

Andy Schwartzman, Media Access Project
Jeff Chester, Media Access Project
Gene Kimmelman, Consumers Union
Mark Cooper, CFA

-- 
James Love
http://www.cptech.org
mailto:love@cptech.org
voice 1.202.387.8030