Department of Justice Investigates Five TV Networks Under Antitrust Law Over Resistance to White House Press Controls

According to a BBC report, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has demanded that ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News submit internal communications related to the White House press pool, on the grounds that the five networks' collective decision last month to suspend presidential reporting may have violated the Sherman Act — an antitrust law prohibiting coordinated restrictions on trade by enterprises. A Department of Justice spokesperson told the BBC that the Antitrust Division is investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated antitrust law. As of now, none of the five networks has responded.

The incident originated when the Trump administration last month revoked the White House press credentials of CNN, MS Now, and Politico on the grounds that the relevant media had "fabricated or disseminated lies." In response, the five TV networks suspended their presidential coverage for several days. Under the White House press pool mechanism, footage and written materials gathered by members are typically shared with other media outlets, in order to reduce administrative costs and ensure consistent access to information across news organizations.

After the three media outlets sued the Trump administration, alleging that its restrictions on access violated the press freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment, a judge ruled that the White House must restore their press credentials. It remains unclear whether the Department of Justice's investigation will escalate into a formal lawsuit, and the ultimate judicial outcomes of the First Amendment lawsuit and the Associated Press lawsuit are equally uncertain.

Applying antitrust provisions designed for businesses to investigate news organizations that resist press controls is logically untenable — coordinating the sharing of news materials and restricting commercial competition are fundamentally different in nature. The Department of Justice's move appears more like using antitrust tools to pressure the TV networks than a genuine concern for market order.

This is not an isolated incident, but the latest link in the current tightening of America's news ecosystem. In February of this year, the Trump administration announced that it would take over the White House press pool arrangements, which had been managed by the White House Correspondents' Association for over a century, bringing the qualifications for journalists' access to the presidential schedule under the executive branch's internal control. Around the same time, the government, on the grounds that the Associated Press used "Gulf of Mexico" rather than "American Gulf," barred its reporters and photographers from restricted areas such as the Oval Office and Air Force One; the lawsuit the AP filed over the matter is still ongoing.

The government is able, after losing a First Amendment lawsuit, to launch a new legal offensive under the banner of antitrust; and, beyond its administrative takeover of the press pool, to continue tightening channels of information by barring specific media from sensitive spaces. The two paths run in parallel toward a single goal: turning the machinery of the state against those news organizations that dare to document the ways in which power operates.