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AT&T slows AOL-Time deal
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October 9, 2000: 12:23 a.m. ET
Senate Judiciary chair concerned AT&T cable ties could stifle competition
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Cable ties with AT&T are the latest aspect of the planned America Online-Time Warner merger to draw scrutiny from federal regulators.
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has expressed concerns about threats to competition from AT&T's 25 percent stake in the Time Warner's cable and entertainment partnership, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
"I am concerned that the AOL-Time Warner merger, if approved with this intertwined interest with AT&T, might have anticompetitive effects to the detriment of consumers," Hatch wrote in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission.
AT&T gained its stake in Time Warner Entertainment as a result of this year's acquisition of MediaOne Group.
Dulles, Va.-based AOL (AOL: Research, Estimates) and New York-based Time Warner (TWX: Research, Estimates) responded in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission that the AT&T partnership would not give rise to any connection "that would harm competition in any relevant area," the newspaper said.
Time Warner is the parent company of CNNfn. 
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