Business news in brief

By The Associated Press

DirecTV buys rival Dish

DirecTV is buying Dish and Sling, a deal it has sought to complete for years, as the company seeks to better compete against streaming services that have become dominant.

DirecTV said Monday that it will acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that includes a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt.

The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, with headlines about reported talks popping up over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked their owners’ then-$18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.

Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over phone settings

LOS ANGELES | Video game maker Epic Games sued Google and Samsung on Monday, accusing the tech companies of coordinating to block third-party competition in application distribution on Samsung devices.

At issue is Samsung’s “Auto Blocker” feature, which only allows for apps from authorized sources, such as the Samsung Galaxy Store or Google Play Store, to be installed. The feature is turned on by default but can be changed in a phone’s settings. The tool prevents the installation of applications from unauthorized sources and blocks “malicious activity,” according to Samsung.

In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court — Epic’s second against Google — the company said Auto Blocker “is virtually guaranteed to entrench Google’s dominance over Android app distribution.” Epic, developer of the popular game “Fortnite,” filed the suit to prevent Google from “negating the long overdue promise of competition in the Android App Distribution Market,” according to the complaint.

Arkansas sues YouTube over claims that site is fueling mental health crisis

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. | Arkansas sued YouTube and parent company Alphabet on Monday, saying the video-sharing platform is made deliberately addictive and fueling a mental health crisis among youth in the state.

Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office filed the lawsuit in state court, accusing them of violating the state’s deceptive trade practices and public nuisance laws. The lawsuit claims the site is addictive and has resulted in the state spending millions on expanded mental health and other services for young people.

“YouTube amplifies harmful material, doses users with dopamine hits, and drives youth engagement and advertising revenue,” the lawsuit said. “As a result, youth mental health problems have advanced in lockstep with the growth of social media, and in particular, YouTube.”

—From AP reports