Google and Microsoft Monopolies

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Oct 15, 2023

• Google is blocking Microsoft Edge users from watching YouTube videos, here's why

  According to a report by Windows Latest, this move comes as Google has been trying to crack down on ad blockers, which can prevent the company from generating revenue from advertising. Google has previously been criticised for its anti-ad blocker measures, which some have accused of being anti-competitive. Incidentally, Google is currently embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the US Department of Justice on its alleged anti-competitive practices.

• The FTC’s case against Microsoft’s Activision acquisition is not going well. (Update: It got worse.)

  But the FTC’s gambit suffered a major blow last week when a federal judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction to stop the merger before the trial is scheduled to begin in August. The FTC’s appeal of the decision was denied a few days later. That gives the companies the green light to complete their merger, although it could be undone should the FTC win its lawsuit. At this point, however, it’s exceedingly unlikely that the FTC will continue its case at all; it usually drops lawsuits like this when it loses the preliminary injunction to block them.

• How Microsoft Turned the Tide in Its Regulatory Fight Over Activision

  The call was a linchpin of Microsoft’s legal strategy to overcome immense government scrutiny of the largest consumer tech deal in decades. To complete the deal, Microsoft needed to mollify three of the most powerful and skeptical regulators in the world: the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission in Brussels and Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority.

  Microsoft slowly flipped competitors into allies, signing private deals to pre-empt concerns that it anticipated from regulators. When diplomacy didn’t work, it made a substantial concession and used expansive legal resources to grind the government agencies down.

• The Upshot of Microsoft’s Activision Deal: Big Tech Can Get Even Bigger

  But on Friday, when Microsoft closed its blockbuster $69 billion acquisition of the video game publisher Activision Blizzard after beating back a federal government challenge, the message sent by the merger’s completion was incontrovertible: Big Tech can still get bigger.

• US antitrust enforcer says pressing on with fight against Microsoft/Activision deal

  The US Federal Trade Commission said on Friday it remained focused on its appeal opposing Xbox maker Microsoft's now-closed $69 billion deal to buy Activision but would "assess" the company's agreement with Ubisoft.

• Microsoft Closes $69 Billion Activision Deal, Overcoming Regulators’ Objections

  The deal, the largest consumer tech acquisition since AOL bought Time Warner more than two decades ago, won approval from British regulators on Friday, the last remaining regulatory obstacle.

  The completion of Microsoft’s Activision acquisition is a clear signal that several years of governments around the world scrutinizing big tech companies have so far done little to curb their power, their growth or their ability to ink megadeals. And the deal could provide a blueprint for other big tech companies on how to successfully fend off the intervention of regulators.

• Microsoft finally closes its $68.7B acquisition of Activision Blizzard

  The primary obstacle to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was that, until recently, it didn’t have regulatory approval from the U.K.’s antitrust regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, launched an investigation into the deal shortly after it was announced last January. This past April, the regulator moved to block it.

• Microsoft Finally Completes Activision Blizzard Deal

  Microsoft finalized its purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. for $69 billion after it received approval from UK regulators on Friday. The Xbox maker’s acquisition of the gaming company known for its Call of Duty franchise marks the end of a nearly two-year fight with regulators who attempted to block the deal.

• Brit watchdog slams Microsoft as it clears $69B Activision Blizzard buy

  The decision seemed a mere formality following the Competition and Markets Authority's comment in August that a concession offered by Microsoft – to divest cloud streaming rights for Activision games to Ubisoft outside of the European Economic Area – addressed concerns.

• Apple defends Google Search deal in court: ‘There wasn’t a valid alternative’

  Eddy Cue, in a dark suit, peered down at the monitor in front of him. The screens in the Washington, DC, courtroom had briefly malfunctioned and left witnesses with only binders, but now the tech was up and running — showing an image of three iPhones, each demonstrating a part of the phone’s setup process. Cue squinted down at the screen.

• 2023-10-13 [Older] Eddy Cue in Court, Defending Apple’s Lucrative Search Deal With Google

• 2023-10-11 [Older] Google Allegedly Pays Over $18 Billion a Year to Be Apple’s Favorite Search Engine