After U.S. President Trump barred three media outlets—including CNN—from the White House, the five major U.S. television news networks (CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox) briefly suspended their participation in shared White House pool coverage. The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it is investigating whether these five outlets violated federal antitrust laws.
Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Justice stated on the 10th that it is investigating whether the five major U.S. television news networks’ boycott of White House coverage violated federal antitrust laws.
According to the Department of Justice, the five media outlets are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News.
A Department of Justice spokesperson stated, “A collective boycott among business competitors may violate the Sherman Act.”
Last month, Trump barred CNN, MSNBC, and the political news site Politico from the White House, citing their dissemination of what he termed “fake news” and “fabricated content and lies”; this decision was later overturned by a federal judge.
At that time, major U.S. television news networks halted shared White House pool coverage for several days in solidarity with CNN. “Pool coverage” refers to an arrangement where one television station conducts live filming on behalf of other networks and shares the footage.