The Federal Trade Commission is likely to file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft's $69 billion takeover of video game giant Activision Blizzard, maker of the hit games Call of Duty and Candy Crush, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
A lawsuit would be the FTC’s biggest move yet under Chair Lina Khan to rein in the power of the world’s largest technology companies. It would also be a major black mark for Microsoft, which has positioned itself as a white knight of sorts on antitrust issues in the tech sector after going through its own grueling regulatory antitrust battles around the world more than two decades ago.
A lawsuit challenging the deal is not guaranteed, and the FTC's four commissioners have yet to vote out a complaint or meet with lawyers for the companies, two of the people said. However, the FTC staff reviewing the deal are sceptical of the companies' arguments, those people said.
The investigation remains ongoing, but much of the heavy lifting is completed, including depositions of Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and Activision head Bobby Kotick, the people with knowledge of the investigation said. If the agency does move ahead with a case, it could come as soon as next month, said the people, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss a confidential matter.
Feds Likely to Challenge Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Takeover - POLITICO
![](https://media.tenor.com/oxt9EhZVzdEAAAAC/epic-facepalm.gif)
If FTC does this, then it will show that they've learnt absolutely nothing about why people wanted them to rein in certain companies.
They're just looking at the first big company they find making a large acquisition and going after it, burning their limited funding on a dumb as fuck battle instead of going after companies that actually harm their markets in significant ways. They'll likely pat themselves on the back afterwards and say to the public "see, we did something about big tech!" and then do fuck all about the rest, Lol.
Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 23 November 2022