F.T.C. Said to Plan to Sue to Stop Microsoft’s Activision Deal From Closing
New York TimesJun 12, 2023
US Judge Grants Restraining Order in Microsoft-Activision Deal
Image copyright: Kurt Kaiser [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
On Tuesday, a federal district court judge in California granted a request from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard by issuing a temporary restraining order.
However, Judge Edward Davila didn’t rule on the request for a preliminary injunction. A different judge will oversee a hearing on that aspect on June 22 or 23.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The FTC has made it its mission to rein in big tech and other large companies to protect consumers — this suit is the latest blow against an attempt at creating a monopoly. Best of all, countries around the world are uniting to fight these types of deals to limit the scope of Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon.
Establishment-critical narrative
The FTC, and other worldwide regulatory bodies, are overreaching and harming both innovation and the profitability of these companies just to be spiteful. In this case, Microsoft has made numerous concessions to prove it’s not going to harm consumers — yet it’s still being forced to make its case in court.