Excerpt from The Wrap. Read the full article here.
“Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has granted the Block the Merger coalition’s emergency motion for an opportunity to file amicus briefs formally opposing Paramount’s settlement with 12 state attorneys general to resolve litigation against the Warner Bros. Discovery merger…
“‘We believe the consent decree fails to meaningfully address or mitigate the harms that will be caused by this monopoly merger to the entertainment industry, diverse storytelling, independent filmmaking, consumer interests, a free press, First Amendment rights, and fundamentally, democracy,’ Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Steering Committee for the Committee for the First Amendment and First Amendment litigator, said in a statement. ‘It does not serve to benefit anyone except the owner family of Paramount and those holding political power who will use this corporate consolidation as a proxy force for First Amendment suppression of disfavored expression and viewpoints.’”