US Justice Department opens antitrust investigation into five TV networks

The US Department of Justice has said it is investigating five television networks over whether they broke federal competition laws when they suspended pool coverage of President Donald Trump. The networks are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News, Justice Department spokesperson Emily Covington said. "The Antitrust Division is simply investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws," Covington said. The New York Times reported the networks were notified on Friday.

Covington said group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act, a law that bars companies from engaging in monopolistic business practices. The Justice Department asked the networks to hand over communications related to the pool, the BBC reported. Al Jazeera reported the networks did not immediately comment on the announcement.

The White House barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico in September after Trump accused the organisations of writing "fiction or lies" about his team, according to the BBC. The White House said on September 19 that covering the president was a "privilege – not a right", Al Jazeera reported. On September 21, the five broadcasters that make up the primary White House television pool stopped presidential coverage in protest and refused to provide replacement coverage, DW reported. The outlets sued the administration, alleging the exclusions violated the First Amendment, which protects freedom of the press, and that the White House was retaliating over their coverage.

The White House reinstated the credentials on September 24 after US District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled the ban was likely unconstitutional and ordered the administration to "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" their access, Al Jazeera reported. Disputes over access to specific presidential events and pool assignments continued, according to Al Jazeera.

Jose Zamora, the Committee to Protect Journalists' regional director of the Americas, said on X that the government should not use antitrust investigations to intimidate news outlets defending press access. "The public's right to know depends on that access," Zamora said.

Al Jazeera reported the investigation is the latest in a series of clashes between the Trump administration and major news organisations. Trump has repeatedly called the mainstream media "fake news", according to Al Jazeera and DW. In February, the administration moved to bar Associated Press reporters and photographers from limited-access spaces such as the Oval Office because the outlet used "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America", the BBC reported. AP filed a lawsuit and the case remains ongoing, according to the BBC.