Verizon’s deal to buy AOL will make life uncomfortable for TechCrunch and Engadget

The news just dropped that AOL is being purchased by Verizon for $4.4 billion in cash, which means the company will own Engadget, Techcrunch and Huffington Post, along with a variety of other publications. The deal is a little concerning. Verizon was recently busy trying to quietly start a tech blog called Sugarstring that was banned from discussing net neutrality, US surveillance and other sensitive topics (at least until it was caught in the act and shut it down). Verizon’s press release says the purchase focuses on further driving “LTE wireless video and OTT video strategy” to “provide a platform from wireless to IoT.” With today’s purchase,…

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