Free Press Disappointed in FCC Vote to Approve Qwest-CenturyLink Merger Without Meaningful Conditions

WASHINGTON -- On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to approve the Qwest-CenturyLink merger.

Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner made the following statement:

“Although Free Press did not oppose this merger, we did raise concerns about its impact on the companies' customers and requested the FCC apply conditions similar to the Net Neutrality protections applied in the AT&T-Bell South merger to safeguard the open Internet and lessen the harm to consumers.

“Instead of following precedent and ensuring this merger could benefit the public, Chairman Genachowski was unwilling to place any conditions on these companies beyond what they agreed to do voluntarily.

“The FCC isn’t a negotiator; it’s a regulator. The FCC's mission is not to broker voluntary commitments; it's to take the steps necessary to ensure a merger serves the public interest.”