Microsoft has admitted the company made a mistake last month when it called the FTC unconstitutional with regard to the ongoing Xbox and Activision investigation. The company called out the Federal Trade Commission in December when it filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and its purchase of Activision Blizzard.
According to Microsoft, the FTC had no legitimate reason for preventing the transaction of Activision Blizzard. The company believed that the lawsuit violated Article III of the US Consitution and separation of powers.
While Microsoft originally accused the FTC of being unconstitutional, the company has now retracted its original claim. In a newly revised filing, Microsoft has still urged the FTC to reassess its purchase of Activision but the focus has been shifted towards the details of the purchase rather than how “unconstitutional” the FTC was.
It seems that Microsoft realized fighting the FTC’s view on the acquisition would be counterintuitive. Instead of pointing blame at the commission for blocking the sale with a lawsuit, Microsoft is now tackling the issues which caused the sale to be blocked in the first place. A more mature move.
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Microsoft originally filed a statement against the FTC in December which included a detailed breakdown of the FTC’s structure and in-house administration. In the filing, Microsoft claimed the FTC was breaking the constitution and going against the process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that has since changed.
The new filing now covers the FTC’s role in the industry. Microsoft states that the Federal Trade Commission “has an important mission to protect competition and consumers, and we quickly updated our response to omit language suggesting otherwise based on the constitution”.
Microsoft’s approach to this FTC lawsuit hasn’t done the company any good. In fact, the FTC has now scheduled this case to stretch far into 2023. It is set to commence in August, a month after Microsoft’s offer for Activision Blizzard expires. However, Microsoft is hoping to address the concerns surrounding the sale before that happens in order to get the deal signed off as soon as possible.
Source: Axios
