![handle is hein.tera/crser0056 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22940
August 20, 2008
ACRS Report for Congress
Merger Review Authority of the Federal
Communications Commission
Kathleen Ann Ruane
Legislative Attorney
American Law Division
Summary
This report will explain the merger review process at the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC or Commission). Whenever companies holding licenses issued by
the FCC wish to merge, the merging entities must obtain approval from two federal
agencies: the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FCC. The Commission and the DOJ
do not follow precisely the same process or reasoning when examining the potential
effects of proposed mergers. Though both agencies have the authority to proceed under
the antitrust laws (as the DOJ must), the Commission generally chooses to examine
proposed mergers under its Communications Act authority to grant license transfers.
The Act permits the Commission to grant the transfer only if the agency determines that
the transaction would be in the public interest. The public interest standard is generally
broader than the competition analysis authorized by the antitrust laws and conducted by
the DOJ. Therefore, the Commission possesses greater latitude to examine other
potential effects of a proposed merger beyond its possible effect on competition in the
relevant market.
Introduction
Companies holding licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC or Commission) are in a unique position when they seek to combine. In the United
States, when most corporations plan to merge, the proposal is reviewed by only one of
two federal agencies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) (which agency reviews the merger proposal depends on the outcome of a process
known as clearance).' Companies holding FCC licenses, on the other hand, must obtain
The FTC and DOJ have agreed that, to avoid unnecessary duplication, neither agency would
proceed until the other agency cleared the investigation to it. The clearance policy, recently
revised in 2002, is embodied in the Memorandum of Agreement Between the Federal Trade
Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice Concerning Clearance
Procedures for Investigations and is available online at [http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/02/
clearance/ftcdojagree.pdq [hereinafter, Clearance Agreement].
Congressional Research Service The Library of Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.tera/crser0056&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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