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Machiavellian on 11 May 2023
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Ryuu96 said:
Machiavellian said:

The CMA cannot act as the global regulator.  That gives the CMA way to much power.  As you stated, what can they stand on if the Cloud SLC no longer an issue.  It would be a huge overreach to try and then bring up something which was not part of the original decision.

They technically can and they've already said so to Microsoft that they want the concessions to apply worldwide. They will simply argue that the concessions need to be worldwide because only applying the concessions to UK won't protect competition elsewhere which in turn WILL have an effect on UK markets too.

CMA has too much power.

The best chance Microsoft has, and probably only chance, is it CAT determines that Cloud Gaming isn't its own market.

If that happens then yeah it will be hard for CMA. They're clearly set on blocking the deal though, I've no doubt that they've wanted it blocked since it was announced and just tried to find an argument to fit it.

My understanding is that once it's sent back to CMA, the Phase 2 process can begin again and a different group inside of the CMA looks at the deal, new evidence can be submitted and new demands can be issued, the new group can come to different interpretations or the same one but it won't be as long as the first time since a lot of evidence is already there.

My question is not what they say, my question is it legal.  In other words, if the rest of the world agree to the deal, how can one country decide for everyone else.  Can that decision be challenged.  I do not have a understanding of UK courts but any country trying to be the global regulator for everyone else is a clear violation as no one needs any country to be a global regulator outside of their own boarders.  Lets say the CMA block the deal because MS does not remove XCloud from other countries outside of the UK, how can the UK enforce such a decision.  I would believe that would be something that can be directly challenged.  The CMA would have to successfully defend such a stance which I believe will be extremely hard to do.  It would be very hard to say that a cloud platform not offered in the UK can somehow effect their market when its tied to a specific product that does not have the product included.

I agree they could come with some other BS but that one I would believe is very tough sell.