The Connecticut Attorney General and Consumer Counsel announced a settlement with Charter Communications regarding its proposed acquisition of Cox Communications. The settlement includes consumer protections such as billing transparency, service reliability improvements, a $3 million digital access investment, and other commitments. It is pending approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
Charter must maintain its Stamford corporate office and in-state workforce for five years, prevent transaction costs from being passed to customers, improve billing transparency, limit equipment and service change fees, provide battery-backup options and outage credits, report annually on network upgrades and outages, offer 24/7 customer service, require identification for door-to-door representatives, honor existing price-for-life agreements, expand video service in former Cox areas, carry local news channels on basic tiers, comply with non-discrimination laws, and submit a Connecticut Data Privacy Act impact assessment and integration report.
In-house legal teams should review contracts for clauses that might conflict with merger commitments, such as pricing transparency, fee structures, service level agreements, data privacy compliance, and obligations to maintain corporate presence and workforce. Ensure that agreements include provisions for regulatory cooperation, data sharing, and adherence to non-discrimination laws. Verify that existing customer agreements, like price-for-life offers, are honored and that service expansions and content carriage requirements are met.
Entity
Charter
Industry
TelecommunicationsOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2026-press-releases/consumer-protection-commitments-in-proposed-charter-cox-merger-settlement
charter cox occ oag settlement agreement.pdf?rev=a4b40ef158a
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/press_releases/2026/charter-cox-occ-oag-settlement-agreement.pdf?rev=a4b40ef158a6488d85c753d1f7f9f7ab&hash=29E8870D9ED013BBE4575418ADC56DA8
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
"Charter has sought approval from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to acquire Cox."
"submit a specified Connecticut Data Privacy Act impact assessment"
$625K
Connecticut reached a $625,000 settlement with Frontier Communications Parent Inc. over an April 2024 breach in which compromised employee and vendor credentials were used to access internal systems and exfiltrate unencrypted personal information of 58,841 Connecticut residents. The settlement requires Frontier to strengthen its security program, implement specific safeguards and training, and obtain an independent third-party assessment.
$2.6M
Connecticut and New York found that Boston Children’s Health Physicians and its security vendor, XTIUM, failed to use reasonable safeguards, resulting in hackers accessing sensitive personal, medical, and employee information. The companies agreed to pay penalties totaling $2.64 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures.
Connecticut joined a coalition of state attorneys general filing a notice in Character Technologies, Inc.’s bankruptcy proceedings, raising concerns about the company’s safety and privacy practices and the sensitive information it holds. The states seek protections for children and consumers if the company’s business or assets are sold or transferred; the filing does not impose a fine or other remedy.
Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman petitioned PURA to review how Connecticut public utilities use artificial intelligence, citing potential data privacy and cybersecurity risks, algorithmic errors, and misleading outputs. The petition asks PURA to examine utility AI systems, safeguards, vendors, and data security practices; it does not report a finding of violation or an imposed penalty.
$2.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a settlement with RZ Smoke, Inc. over allegations that it distributed and sold high-potency cannabis products without a state license. The stipulated judgment is $2 million, with $375,000 payable to the State and $1.6 million suspended to ensure compliance; the company is barred from specified cannabis activities in Connecticut unless licensed.
$13.7M
Connecticut joined a coalition of states and the federal government in settling allegations that Takeda paid healthcare providers speaker honoraria and provided meals to induce prescriptions of Trintellix, leading to allegedly false claims to government healthcare programs. Takeda agreed to pay $13,670,921 plus accrued interest, with portions allocated to federal and state programs.