Free Press and Block the Merger Partners Win Motion to File Amicus Brief Against Paramount's Weak Deal

OAKLAND — On Thursday morning, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín agreed to grant interested parties the opportunity to file amicus briefs in opposition to the unenforceable consent decree that state attorneys general entered into with Paramount on Monday. The judge’s decision came in response to the emergency motion that core members of the Block the Merger coalition filed earlier on Thursday.

The following is a joint statement from Free Press, the Committee for the First Amendment, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Future Film Coalition and the International Documentary Association, the Block the Merger coalition groups that filed the emergency motion.

“The consent decree the state AGs agreed to in a backroom deal is weak, unenforceable and leaves workers, journalists, and consumers in the dust. The settlement fails to address the grave dangers this merger poses — and no amount of spin can change that. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín’s ruling will ensure the interests of those who will actually pay the price for the Ellisons’ sweetheart deal that the AGs failed to adequately represent are heard. We look forward to explaining that in further detail in our brief due at midnight tonight.”

Free Press blasted the deal earlier this week, noting it would “cut jobs and raise prices, all as it consolidates the media even more to enable authoritarians.” Despite California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s repeated statements that he would not accept unenforceable behavioral remedies, that is exactly and exclusively what the attorneys general’s consent decree with Paramount contains.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) also filed a separate emergency motion late Wednesday to address concerns with the consent decree.