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Microsoft president dials back criticism of UK regulators

Microsoft regulators
Microsoft president Brad Smith at Web Summit. Image credit: G Holland / Shutterstock

Microsoft president Brad Smith has dialled back the criticism he directed at UK regulators last year in which he declared the country “closed for business”.

Speaking on the BBC’s Today Programme, Smith said he felt the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was “tough and fair” in its handling of Microsoft’s attempts to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard last year.

Last April, the CMA blocked Microsoft’s $68.7bn acquisition deal with Activision Blizzard over concerns it would harm the competitiveness of the cloud gaming market.

A lengthy back and forth followed, with regulators from the US, EU and China all examining the deal.

The merger was approved by the CMA in October after Microsoft and Activision presented a restructured deal. However, prior to this, the Microsoft president said the regulator’s actions were harmful to the competitiveness of the UK.

“The CMA’s decision rejects the pragmatic path to address concerns and discourages technology innovation and investment in the United Kingdom,” said Smith in April 2023.

Smith’s position has since softened, with the Microsoft vice-chair saying “the CMA vindicated its position but still created a pragmatic path forward for innovation and investment. I think that is good for everyone”.

He said the investigation “pushed” the company to “change the acquisition” in response to concerns “with respect to cloud gaming”.

The US executive’s comments come off the back of a year where regulators faced attention over their handling of Big Tech mergers and acquisitions.

Microsoft doubled down on its support of UK tech towards the end of last year in the form a £2.5bn pledge to invest in British AI infrastructure.

The CMA, despite clearing the Activision Blizzard deal, announced last month it is examining Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, the maker of advanced chatbot ChatGPT.

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