Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones joined a bipartisan coalition of 13 attorneys general alleging that Nexstar and Tegna are violating a court's hold-separate order by allowing Nexstar personnel to remain on Tegna's Board of Directors during the merger litigation. The coalition seeks clarification of the order to ensure the companies operate independently while the antitrust case proceeds.
This enforcement action is primarily antitrust-focused rather than privacy-related. However, in-house legal teams should review any merger-related agreements, particularly hold-separate orders and compliance undertakings, to ensure independence between merging entities during litigation. For privacy-specific contracts, this action does not directly implicate data processing or privacy clauses.
Entity
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and Tegna Inc.
Industry
Media & Entertainment"Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nexstar) and Tegna Inc. (Tegna)"
"allege that Nexstar’s personnel continuing to sit on Tegna’s Board of Directors violates the court order"
"bipartisan coalition of 13 attorneys general"
Antitrust enforcement action where Oregon AG filed a lawsuit to block the $6.2 billion merger of Nexstar and Tegna, alleging it violates Clayton Act Section 7 by substantially lessening competition in broadcasting, which could harm local news and raise consumer prices.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by attorneys general from seven other states, filed a lawsuit to block the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by reducing competition in local TV markets, leading to higher prices, less local news, and job losses.
Virginia’s Attorney General joined a multistate lawsuit challenging a federal Medicaid rule that made it harder for medically vulnerable people to qualify for exemptions from work requirements. The court found the definition of medical frailty unlawful, vacated that language, and issued a permanent injunction; the release does not state the court decision’s date, so the release date is used as a proxy.
$220.0M
General Motors agreed to pay $220 million to resolve allegations that it sold identifiable driver behavior and location data to data brokers and insurers without adequately disclosing the practice or obtaining consumers’ consent. The settlement requires affirmative express consent before collecting or disclosing driving and location data, limits data collection, and imposes privacy-program assessments and dealership oversight and training.
Virginia joined a multistate lawsuit challenging a FinCEN rule that exempts nearly all businesses from beneficial-ownership reporting and the agency’s plan to delete ownership information already collected. The states allege violations of the Corporate Transparency Act and Administrative Procedure Act and seek to have the rule set aside and the ownership database maintained; no court outcome or monetary penalty is reported.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones joined a coalition of attorneys general in filing an amicus brief challenging DHS’s practice of conducting warrantless civil immigration arrests without determining whether individuals are likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. The release reports that a district court had previously granted a preliminary injunction in the underlying case; it does not report a penalty or a new remedy imposed on DHS by this brief.