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Less than a month before tough new European privacy rules take effect, there are growing concerns from regulators, publishers, and privacy watchdogs about the ways that two internet giants—Google and Facebook—plan to implement the regulations. The critics say the companies are squelching the promise of the new rules, and will leave European internet users no better off. In a blog, a top EU regulator warned of “attempts to game the system,” which could lead to a “travesty of at least the spirit of the new regulation, which aims to restore a sense of trust and control over what happens to our

Allied Progress, which is opposed to the Sinclair-Tribune deal, says it has placed a six-figure TV ad buy in Iowa to try to get viewers to pressure House Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to hold hearings on the proposed merger. The group says Grassley has done nothing to scrutinize the merger despite the companies "many controversies." The ad says that "those choosing to compete in the state’s cherished Iowa Caucuses may be forced to face much more than a field of other candidates if the Sinclair-Tribune merger succeeds."

Facebook users will soon be able to opt out of one of Facebook’s key data gathering practices: Its collection and use of people’s web browsing history, which the company uses to sell targeted ads. As part of an upcoming feature called “clear history,” users can delete their browsing data from Facebook‘s servers, or ask the company not to collect it to begin with. Your browsing data could still be retained in an anonymous, aggregated set for companies that use Facebook for analytics purposes, but it wouldn’t be tied to your profile or used for targeting, a spokesperson confirmed.

An obscure wireless industry deal from 2017 can help explain why T-Mobile and Sprint finally agreed to merge after years of flirting with a deal.

After the announcement T-Mobile would swallow Sprint, here's the reaction.

The outcome of AT&T's fight with the Justice Department over its bid for Time Warner could shape the regulatory review of the long-anticipated union of Sprint and T-Mobile. 

One of the things that will enable T-Mobile and Sprint to move fast with their 5G integration is a not-so-little thing called Massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO). Of course, it’s business as usual for each company while they make their case before regulators, but Sprint CTO John Saw said one of the things that will make for a faster integration is Massive MIMO, something Sprint has been working on for some time.  “With Massive MIMO we are able to actually upgrade existing towers,” Saw said.

Why would the US government want to reduce competitiveness now by letting T-Mobile and Sprint merge? It’s not as if there are many up-and-coming challengers in the market — even Google’s attempts seem half-hearted. (Also, given the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the AT&T-Time Warner merger, it’ll want to eye this deal with the same scrutiny.)

As the two smaller players in a wireless industry dominated by four companies, T-Mobile and Sprint argue that they need to link up to effectively challenge Verizon and AT&T, and the creation of a new wireless behemoth — with nearly 100 million customers — will allow them to build out a national 5G network. T-Mobile CEO John Legere has already raised the specter of Chinese competition on the next-generation network technology. And although that argument will be thoroughly questioned by critics, it’s one that could get some play in the Trump administration.

Although there is a view that the regulatory environment for large mergers may have softened with the current government, a deal could still face considerable hurdles. The stance of the current administration on telecommunication mergers has been somewhat unpredictable. For instance, the Justice Department sued AT&T November 2017 to block its $85 billion take-over of media behemoth Time Warner. There is a possibility that the DoJ could remain averse to a deal this time around as well.