Microsoft today filed a revised response to a US Federal Trade Commission lawsuit aimed at preventing the tech giant from acquiring call of duty publisher Activision. The original profile There are many arguments that the FTC itself and its court system are unconstitutional. But now, Microsoft has pulled that language out of the document and claims that it was a complete mistake. You know, it’s just your average mistake to call a large government agency unconstitutional.
Last year, Microsoft announced its consumption plan call of duty and World of Warcraft publisher Activision Blizzard for a a whopping 69 billion USD. Since then, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have faced feedback and regulatory hurdles around the world as various government agencies and regulatory committees investigate whether the mega deal gives Microsoft an unfair advantage over competitors. As you’d expect, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard fought back and spent 2022, submitting court responses, documents and paperwork in an attempt to make its deal happen.
In a press release issued by the FTC last month, the agency announced a lawsuit against the merger and argued that Microsoft would be able to strangle its competitors by turning games into Xbox exclusives and manipulating prices, if the deal is approved. Microsoft responded with a response containing a variety of arguments, including the assertion that the FTC itself is indeed unconstitutional.
However, as reported by axis, Microsoft has re-filtered its feedback today on the case and omitted the argument that the FTC’s case was “invalid because of the Commission’s structure as an independent body with significant executive power” in violation of Article II of the Constitution. United States law. In the same portion of the original filing, Microsoft also argued that the lawsuit and legal proceedings brought by the FTC were “invalid” because the FTC’s formal complaint violated Article III of the U.S. Constitution. . Oh, and Microsoft’s legal team also claimed that the FTC’s “procedures” violated the company’s “Fifth Amendment Equal Protection right”.
Read more: Gamers are suing Microsoft to prevent merger with Activision
Now all that is gone and Microsoft says axis that it probably shshould not have been in the original document in the first place.
“The FTC has an important mission to protect competition and consumers, and we quickly updated our response to omit other constitutionally suggestive language,” said the spokesperson in charge. Microsoft’s public affairs, says David Cuddy. axis. “Initially, we raised all of the potential arguments internally and should have dropped these defenses before we filed.”
Microsoft said it appreciates all of the “feedback” it has received on arguments that the FTC itself is unconstitutional and is “engaging directly with those who have expressed concerns” to clarify its position. company in this regard. In other words, the FTC is probably not very happy to be called unconstitutional and you probably shouldn’t be angry with the people who are suing you and trying to stop your whole big merger from happening.
axis reports that Activision is also dropping similar allegations it’s included in its own, separate response to the same FTC lawsuit.
