After years of seeming government indifference to ever-larger monopolistic firms, the DOJ has filed suit against the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner. Does this signal a much-needed resurgence of antitrust action? Or is it a one-off?
Tim Wu is a renowned scholar on our communications networks, having coined the phrase “net neutrality” and written extensively on the subject both inside and outside of government and academia, including the White House and Columbia University. His latest book, The Attention Merchants, is a history of advertising, and it’s not pretty. He spoke with us about our declining private spheres, the current state of the Internet, and the effects of what he calls The Cycle, as new communications technologies inevitably move from open to closed.