Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sued the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ncaa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NCAA</a> on Wednesday, accusing the organization of antitrust violations related to its name, image, and likeness (NIL) policies.
According to the <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/pr/2024/pr24-10-NCAA.Antitrust.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a>, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee on Wednesday, the NCAA has been “artificially depressing” the amount of compensation prospective student-athletes can earn through NIL deals and their ability to negotiate those deals.
“This is all about protecting student athletes and prospective student athletes in making sure that they have market sources available to properly value their name, image, and likeness rights [because] the NCAA has a structure that artificially restricts the market in a way that hurts the student athletes,” Skrmetti told The Daily Wire.
“Student athletes are the heart of college sports and everybody else in college sports is getting rich, and the student athletes are getting left behind because of the lack of competition for their name, image, and likeness rights. That’s illegal and it’s not fair. It’s not right,” he added.
The lawsuit is aimed at rules from the NCAA that limit the ability of prospective student athletes to negotiate NIL rights. According to the suit, these rules harm athletes “at a critical juncture in the recruiting calendar.”
The lawsuit says that the rule “bans prospective college athletes (including current college athletes looking to transfer to another school who are in the ‘transfer portal’) from discussing potential NIL opportunities before they actually enroll. It’s like a coach looking for a new job, and freely talking to many different schools, but being unable to negotiate salary until after he’s picked one (the depressive effect on coaches’ wages in such a dysfunctional market is obvious).”
The NCAA has said the rules act as necessary protections for student athletes after they were first allowed to pursue such deals in 2021.
Skrmetti said that the issue came to his attention last year after there was concern that the NCAA might institute a postseason ban for the University of Tennessee football team after recruiting violations that occurred under a former coach. He said the bowl ban would have harmed the NIL rights of the students who were not connected to the infractions.
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“Student-athletes generate massive revenues for the NCAA, its members, and corporations within the college sports industry, especially in football and basketball,” Miyares <a href="https://www.oag.state.va.us/media-center/news-releases/2680-january-31-2024-attorney-general-miyares-sues-ncaa-over-nil-restrictions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. “Student athletes should have more freedom over negotiating and earning money for their skills and ability. Colleges and universities benefit dramatically from the success of their student athletes &#8212; it’s only fair that student athletes also get the full picture of how they may benefit from their choice of school as well.”
Skrmetti said that the suit wasn’t directed to protect any specific institution, but was about the rights of student athletes and the principle that “concentrated power causes harm.”
“I’m not for, necessarily, the Wild West of unregulated college sports, but what we have now is such an inconsistent and arbitrary and unfair system, there has to be some deep change to make sure that it both comports with the law and is doing right by student athletes,” he said.

2018 NCAA Division III Football Championship

Tennessee, Virginia Attorneys General File Antitrust Lawsuit Against NCAA

Antitrust

Courts

Jason Miyares

NCAA

Sports

Tennessee

U.S.

Virginia

Partially redacted portions of the Federal Trade Commission&#8217;s (FTC) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ftc-launches-antitrust-suit-against-amazon-over-illegal-monopoly-officials-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antitrust lawsuit</a> against Amazon allege the company used an internal algorithmic pricing tool described as an &#8220;unfair method of competition&#8221; to test how much it could raise prices so competitors would follow.
FTC officials and 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon last week for allegedly using &#8220;interlocking and anticompetitive and unfair&#8221; strategies to maintain its monopolistic power over current and future rivals.
The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/1910129AmazoneCommerceComplaintPublic.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">172-page lawsuit</a> details a number of examples accusing the American multinational company of raising consumer prices across retail, including a system called &#8220;Project Nessie,&#8221; which Amazon allegedly stopped using in 2019 for unknown reasons.
Sources familiar with the complaint <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-used-secret-project-nessie-algorithm-to-raise-prices-6c593706?mod=hp_lead_pos2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Wall Street Journal that the algorithm allegedly &#8220;helped Amazon improve its profit on items across shopping categories, and because of the power the company has in e-commerce, led competitors to raise their prices and charge customers more,&#8221; as the outlet reported.
The Journal reported that the algorithm would return the item to its standard price point if competitors didn&#8217;t match Amazon&#8217;s prices.
&#8220;In a competitive world, Amazon&#8217;s decision to raise prices and degrade services would create an opening for rivals and potential rivals to attract business, gain momentum, and grow,&#8221; the lawsuit reads. &#8220;But Amazon has engaged in an unlawful monopolistic strategy to close off that possibility.&#8221;
According to the lawsuit, the FTC estimated a redacted amount had been &#8220;extracted from American households&#8221; by the system, but one source told the Journal that Amazon made over $1 billion in revenue using Project Nessie.
FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar declined to comment on the redacted portions in the complaint but called on Amazon to remove the blocked information.
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&#8220;We once again call on Amazon to move swiftly to remove the redactions and allow the American public to see the full scope of what we allege are their illegal monopolistic practices,&#8221; Farrar told the Journal.
Tim Doyle, a spokesperson for Amazon, told The Daily Wire in an emailed statement that the FTC’s allegations &#8220;grossly mischaracterize&#8221; Project Nessie.
&#8220;Project Nessie was a project with a simple purpose—to try to stop our price matching from resulting in unusual outcomes where prices became so low that they were unsustainable,&#8221; Doyle said. &#8220;The project ran for a few years on a subset of products, but didn’t work as intended, so we scrapped it several years ago.”
Federal officials announced the major federal lawsuit — led by FTC Chair Lina Khan — after the agency voted 3-0 to move forward with the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
&#8220;The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them,&#8221; Khan said in a news release.
Khan, a Democrat appointed by President Joe Biden, reportedly garnered attention as a law student at Yale University when she published an influential antitrust and competition law essay targeting Amazon&#8217;s business practices. But rumors of the FTC going after the online retail giant have been circulating since the Trump administration.
David Zapolsky, senior vice president of Amazon&#8217;s global public policy and general counsel, responded to the complaint last week, saying the federal agency &#8220;is wrong on the facts and the law&#8221; and has &#8220;radically departed&#8221; from its original purpose to enforce federal consumer protection laws and antitrust laws.
&#8220;The FTC has it backwards and if they were successful in this lawsuit, the result would be anticompetitive and anti-consumer because we&#8217;d have to stop many of the things we do to offer and highlight low prices—a perverse result that would be directly opposed to the goals of antitrust law,&#8221; Zapolsky <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-full-response" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.

FTC Sues Amazon in Landmark Antitrust Case Over Marketplace

FTC Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon Alleges Company Used Internal Algorithm To Raise Prices

FTC Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon Alleges Company Used Secret Algorithm To Raise Prices

Amazon

Amazon Prime

Biden Administration

Federal Government

Lawsuit

The Federal Trade Commission launched an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antitrust" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inquiry</a> on Wednesday into the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/baby-formula" target="_blank" rel="noopener">baby formula</a> shortages which have <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/supply-chain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harmed</a> infants and strained their parents over the past several months.
The agency, which centers on consumer protection and the enforcement of antitrust laws, issued a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Baby%20Formula%20RFI_final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">call</a> for public comments about factors that may have led to the shortages that started at the beginning of last year after a series of safety incidents. Officials invited families who have experienced “fraud, deception, or scams when attempting to purchase infant formula,” as well as retailers who have seen “extremely large purchases of infant formula in excess of a single family’s need,” to submit their insights.
&#8220;We have been monitoring and will continue to monitor the ongoing infant formula shortage, which is causing enormous anxiety, fear, and financial burden for American families,&#8221; FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/05/federal-trade-commission-launches-inquiry-infant-formula-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. &#8220;The FTC is launching a public inquiry to identify the factors that contributed to the shortage or hampered our ability to respond to it. Learning from this experience can help determine how we can minimize the risk of similar shortages in the markets for other life-sustaining products.&#8221;
The move from the FTC comes after Abbott Nutrition temporarily shuttered a baby formula facility in Sturgis, Michigan, last year and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abbott-nutrition-reopens-baby-formula-plant-at-center-of-nationwide-shortage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiated</a> a voluntary recall of several products over concerns about bacterial contamination, a move which came after the FDA found standing water, roof leaks, bacteria growth, and inadequate hygiene in the facility. The sudden absence of EleCare, a formula for children who are unable to digest other products, from the marketplace was especially worrisome to parents and government officials.
Reckitt, another consumer goods company, introduced another nationwide recall of baby formula earlier this year and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/baby-formula-recalled-nationwide-over-possible-bacterial-contamination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that two batches of ProSobee Simply Plant-Based Infant Formula may have been contaminated with a species of bacteria possibly deadly to infants.
The inquiry from the FTC will also examine the impact of FDA regulations on the “number of infant formula suppliers, capital investment, and total manufacturing capacity” of the product. The agency asked public commenters to report “regulatory barriers that have prevented companies located outside the United States from entering the infant formula market.”
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The White House previously sought to alleviate the shortage with “Operation Fly Formula,” an initiative through which the military imported baby formula from European nations. Some Democratic officials meanwhile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-yorks-democratic-ag-goes-after-price-gouging-amid-formula-shortage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contended</a> that producers were engaged in price gouging.
Worldwide lockdowns and public health mandates fostered unpredictable supply chain shocks over the past three years, contributing to inflation in many countries. Prices for baby food and formula rose nearly 9% year-over-year as of last month, according to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and saw costs increase more than 4% on a month-to-month basis.
Robert Ford, chief executive of Abbott Nutrition, previously apologized for the shortages in an opinion <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/baby-formula-ceo-has-a-message-for-parents-hit-by-nationwide-shortage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">piece</a>, admitting that his firm “fell short” of expectations but insisting that the shutdown was necessary. “We believe our voluntary recall was the right thing to do,” he wrote. “We will not take risks when it comes to the health of children. The data collected during the investigation, genetic sequencing, retained product samples and available product from the four complaints did not find any connection between our products and the four reported illnesses in children.”

Baby Formula Display

‘Anxiety, Fear, And Financial Burden’: Agency Launches Investigation Into Baby Formula Shortages

FTC Launches Investigation Into Baby Formula Shortages

babies

baby formula

Economy

Supply Chain

Officials with the United States Surface Transportation Board approved the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antitrust" target="_blank" rel="noopener">merger</a> of Kansas City Southern Railway Company and Canadian Pacific Railway Limited on Wednesday, marking the first combination of major <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/railroads" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rail</a> companies in two decades.
The new entity, which will be called Canadian Pacific Kansas City, will be the first railroad spanning Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern are the smallest Class I railroads in North America; the new firm will retain the distinction.
“The transaction will reduce travel time for traffic moving over the single-line service; it should result in increased incentives for investment; and it will eliminate the need for the two now-separate CP and KCS systems to interchange traffic moving from one system to the other,” the Surface Transportation Board said in a <a href="https://www.stb.gov/news-communications/latest-news/pr-23-07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “This will enhance efficiency, which in turn will enable the new CPKC system to better compete for traffic with the other larger Class I carriers.”
The agency said that “numerous conditions,” such as written justifications for any shipping price increases that exceed inflation, can be imposed upon CPKC. Surface Transportation Board officials also established a seven-year oversight period to monitor developments such as the completion of operating improvements and investments to handle new traffic.
The merger comes as the American railroad industry faces increased regulatory scrutiny following the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Local and state authorities were forced to temporarily evacuate all citizens within one mile of the derailment site last month and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/evacuation-ordered-ohio-governor-warns-major-explosion-could-send-shrapnel-a-mile-from-derailed-train" target="_blank" rel="noopener">started</a> a controlled burn of chemicals on the vehicle to decrease the risk of an explosion, inducing unknown <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/researcher-worries-government-is-wrongly-declaring-safety-near-ohio-train-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">environmental</a> effects on the small rust belt community.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) therefore introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023, which would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senators-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-improve-rail-safety-after-ohio-train-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">require</a> rail companies to report hazardous materials on trains to state authorities, raise inspection requirements, and increase the rigor of defect detection efforts. The bill would meanwhile increase several civil penalties for violations of rail safety regulations by tenfold and require that each train must operate with at least two-person crews.
“Through this legislation, Congress has a real opportunity to ensure that what happened in East Palestine will never happen again. We owe every American the peace of mind that their community is protected from a catastrophe of this kind,” Vance said in a <a href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senators-vance-brown-to-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-prevent-train-derailment-disasters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “Action to prevent future disasters is critical, but we must never lose sight of the needs of the Ohioans living in East Palestine and surrounding communities. One day, the TV cameras will leave, and the news cycle will move on, but the needs of those Ohioans will remain.”
The state of Ohio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/entirely-avoidable-ohio-sues-norfolk-southern-for-train-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed suit</a> this week against Norfolk Southern and asked that the company be held financially liable for the derailment, characterizing the incident as “entirely avoidable” and the result of executives neglecting the “welfare of the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates.” The EPA has meanwhile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epa-requires-norfolk-southern-to-test-near-ohio-train-disaster-for-chemicals-which-impact-fertility-last-for-decades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directed</a> Norfolk Southern to sample for dioxins, a class of pollutants that can be formed by vinyl chloride combustion and can bind to soil for decades.

Canadian Pacific Wins US Approval For $27 Billion Rail Deal

Regulators Approve Largest Rail Merger In Two Decades

Regulators Approve Merger Of Two Large Railroads

Business

Railroads

Train

Former House Speaker <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/nancy-pelosi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nancy Pelosi</a> (D-CA) disclosed a sale of 30,000 shares in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/google" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google&#8217;s</a> parent company, Alphabet, roughly one month before the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justice Department</a> opened an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antitrust" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antitrust</a> lawsuit into the technology firm.
Federal regulators <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-department-sues-google-for-alleged-digital-advertising-monopoly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> in the Tuesday complaint that Google monopolizes the tools website publishers use to sell advertisements and that companies utilize to purchase advertisements. Pelosi, who resigned from her leadership position but remains a member of Congress, sold 10,000 shares of Alphabet Class A stock on December 20, December 21, and December 28, according to federal <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2023/20022260.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disclosures</a>, marking a combined transaction value between $1.5 million and $3 million. The disclosures were digitally signed by the lawmaker on January 12.
Although shares for Google have increased roughly 8% over the past month, the company’s stock price declined some 6% this week as news of the antitrust lawsuit became public.
Officials claimed that Google has engaged in a “pattern of acquisitions to obtain control over key digital advertising tools” and has manipulated auctions to “deprive rivals of scale.” Such moves may violate the Sherman Act, which outlaws “monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize” deemed <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unreasonable</a> by the court system. Google said in a statement that the Justice Department lawsuit attempts to “pick winners and losers” in the “highly competitive” advertising technology space.
Pelosi and her husband, Paul, have been repeatedly accused of leveraging insider knowledge that the veteran lawmaker holds in order to increase earnings in the stock market. The filing also revealed that the top Democrat sold shares of Netflix, PayPal, Salesforce, Tesla, and Disney.
Paul Pelosi appeared to have cut losses in software company Nvidia last year before the United States placed new restrictions on computer chip sales to China and Russia. He sold 25,000 shares of Nvidia on July 26 at an average price of $165.05, causing a loss of $341,365, according to a set of <a href="https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/public_disc/ptr-pdfs/2022/20021438.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disclosures</a>. One month later, Nvidia revealed that the government imposed export restrictions on the company’s A100 and forthcoming H100 circuits. The new regulations will “address the risk that the covered products may be used in, or diverted to, a ‘military end use’ or ‘military end user’ in China and Russia,” Nvidia said in a regulatory <a href="https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001045810/000104581022000146/nvda-20220826.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a>.
The couple has also placed stock market bets in the middle of heated policy debates in Congress. In 2021, Paul Pelosi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pelosis-husband-makes-big-tech-stock-moves-again-places-6-million-bet-as-congress-looks-to-rein-in-silicon-valley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bought</a> over $6 million in options contracts related to technology stocks while lawmakers worked on antitrust legislation.
Asset purchases from members of Congress and their immediate families amounted to $267 million in 2021, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sat-members-of-congress-and-their-families-traded-over-630-million-in-stocks-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the New York Times’ DealBook, while sales amounted to $364 million. Officials working at the Federal Reserve have also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-ethics-review-fed-bars-top-officials-from-trading-individual-stocks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced criticism</a> for purchasing individual stocks amid their work to chart the nation’s monetary policy.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sen-hawleys-insider-trading-bill-returns-to-congress-under-new-title-pelosi-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act, also known as the PELOSI Act, in order to address the phenomenon of lawmakers using inside information to benefit financially. The legislation would ban politicians from holding individual stocks, diversified mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds. “For too long, politicians in Washington have taken advantage of the economic system they write the rules for, turning profits for themselves at the expense of the American people,” Hawley said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/abigailmarone/status/1617934984568012800" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a>.

Nancy Pelosi

Pelosis Dumped Google Stock Weeks Before Justice Department Unveiled Antitrust Lawsuit

Pelosis Sold Google Stock Shortly Before Antitrust Lawsuit

Congress

Department of Justice

Google

Paul Pelosi

Stock Market

The Biden administration’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justice Department</a> and several state attorneys general filed suit against <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/google" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google</a> on Tuesday for allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antitrust" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monopolizing</a> various digital advertising <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technologies</a>.
The agency claimed Google monopolizes the tools that website publishers use to sell advertisements and that companies utilize to purchase advertisements. The civil antitrust suit, which follows another <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-monopolist-google-violating-antitrust-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complaint</a> issued by the Trump administration’s Justice Department three years ago related to the company’s alleged monopoly over search advertising, is backed by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia.
“Today’s complaint alleges that Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful conduct to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-google-monopolizing-digital-advertising-technologies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “The Justice Department will vigorously enforce our antitrust laws to protect consumers, safeguard competition, and ensure economic fairness and opportunity for all.”
Shares for Alphabet fell nearly 2% on Tuesday; the company’s stock price has declined 25% over the past year, exceeding 9% decreases in the S&amp;P 500 and 18% decreases in the technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite.
The Justice Department claimed that Google has engaged in a “pattern of acquisitions to obtain control over key digital advertising tools” and has manipulated advertising auctions to “deprive rivals of scale.” Such moves may violate the Sherman Act, which outlaws &#8220;monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize” deemed <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unreasonable</a> by the court system.
“The complaint filed today alleges a pervasive and systemic pattern of misconduct through which Google sought to consolidate market power and stave off free-market competition,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in the release. “In pursuit of outsized profits, Google has caused great harm to online publishers and advertisers and American consumers.”
Google said in a statement that the Justice Department lawsuit attempts to “pick winners and losers” in the “highly competitive” advertising technology space. &#8220;It largely duplicates an unfounded lawsuit by the Texas Attorney General, much of which was recently dismissed by a federal court,” a spokesperson told multiple media outlets, contending that the Justice Department is “doubling down on a flawed argument that would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow.”
Google accounted for some 29% of the total digital advertising revenue generated in the United States as of 2021, according to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/242549/digital-ad-market-share-of-major-ad-selling-companies-in-the-us-by-revenue/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20Google%20accounted%20for,23.8%20and%2011.3%20percent%2C%20respectively." target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from eMarketer. Meta and Amazon followed with 24% and 11% of advertising revenues respectively.
The news of the antitrust lawsuit comes as Google parent company Alphabet announces significant headcount reductions. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai informed staff members that roughly 12,000 positions would be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-white-house-brushed-off-concerns-about-mass-firings-at-microsoft-and-amazon-now-google-is-laying-off-employees-too" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eliminated</a> as a result of macroeconomic turmoil and the need to manage costs, affecting roughly 6% of the company’s <a href="https://abc.xyz/investor/static/pdf/2022Q3_alphabet_earnings_release.pdf?cache=4156e7f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">workforce</a> of nearly 187,000.
The Children’s Investment Fund Management CEO Christopher Hohn <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/google-should-dismiss-more-employees-cut-excessive-salaries-from-median-300k-investor-argues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for Alphabet to reduce headcount by another 25,000 workers, referencing excessive median salaries surpassing $300,000 and rapid growth in payrolls. “I am encouraged to see that you are now taking some action to right size Alphabet’s cost base and understand that it is never an easy decision to let people go,” he told Pichai. “Ultimately management will need to go further.”

American multinational technology company Google logo seen

Justice Department Sues Google For Alleged Digital Advertising Monopoly

Justice Department Files Second Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google

Big Tech

Technology

Regulators at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antitrust" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Trade Commission</a> are attempting to block <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/microsoft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Microsoft</a> from acquiring video game developer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gaming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Activision Blizzard</a> for $69 billion, claiming that the merger would enable the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technology</a> conglomerate to reduce market competition with subsidiary Xbox.
The agency contended in a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/12/ftc-seeks-block-microsoft-corps-acquisition-activision-blizzard-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> that Microsoft routinely acquires gaming companies to “suppress competition from rival consoles.” Members of the commission voted three to one on issuing the legal complaint.
“Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” FTC Bureau of Competition Director Holly Vedova remarked. “Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.”
Stock prices for Activision, which develops popular games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, have risen more than 11% since the beginning of the year, but fell 1.4% on Thursday. Shares for Microsoft, which have fallen more than 26% this year, increased by 1%.
Microsoft President Brad Smith contested the agency’s sentiments in a <a href="https://twitter.com/BradSmi/status/1600939963377254400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> claiming that the firm already addressed antitrust worries from regulators. “We continue to believe that our deal to acquire Activision Blizzard will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers,” he remarked. “While we believe in giving peace a chance, we have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present it in court.”
Smith argued in an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsofts-activision-blizzard-acquisition-is-good-for-gamers-competition-sony-cross-play-ftc-11670260780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion piece</a> for The Wall Street Journal that purchasing Activision will allow Microsoft to more easily compete with Sony and Nintendo, which surpass Xbox in the console gaming space. Revenue generated by the video game platform dropped 3% year-over-year as of the company’s fiscal first quarter, according to an <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2023-q1/press-release-webcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earnings report</a>.
“While modern consumers can stream videos or music on multiple devices on low-cost subscription plans, many games can often only be individually purchased and downloaded onto one device,” he wrote. “Microsoft wants to change that by offering consumers the option to subscribe to a cloud gaming service that lets them stream a variety of games on multiple devices for one reasonable fee. It would also benefit developers by allowing them to reach a much broader audience.”
Policymakers at the FTC, however, believe that Microsoft could increase pricing at Activision, which is one of the few game developers creating high-quality products for multiple platforms.
FTC Chair Lina Khan, a 33-year-old who also serves as a law professor at Columbia University, was overwhelmingly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-confirms-32-year-old-antitrust-scholar-as-federal-trade-commission-chair" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> by the Senate last year on a hawkish approach toward regulating technology companies. A number of antitrust <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bipartisan-antitrust-bills-would-break-up-amazon-google-apple-facebook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">packages</a> have been introduced to Congress by bipartisan coalitions over the past several years with negligible success.
Khan emerged to prominence with an <a href="https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox" target="_blank" rel="noopener">essay</a> published in the Yale Law Journal, entitled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” which argued that the nation’s current regime of discouraging predatory pricing is inept to spurn abuses from online platforms.
“The economics of platform markets create incentives for a company to pursue growth over profits, a strategy that investors have rewarded,” she wrote. “Because online platforms serve as critical intermediaries, integrating across business lines positions these platforms to control the essential infrastructure on which their rivals depend. This dual role also enables a platform to exploit information collected on companies using its services to undermine them as competitors.”

Microsoft – Activision

FTC Moves To Block Microsoft’s $69 Billion Purchase Of Activision

FTC Disapproves Of Microsoft's $69 Billion Activision Merger

Microsoft

Republican members of the Senate cautioned attorneys to “preserve relevant documents” as lawmakers float <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/antitrust" target="_blank" rel="noopener">antitrust</a> investigations regarding the environmental, social, and governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg?_gl=1*vzs4hk*_ga*OTAwNTI1NTYwLjE2MTM5NzIxMzI.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY2NzU4NTEyOS4xNDMwLjEuMTY2NzU4NTM5MS42MC4wLjA." target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
A <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/esg_letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a>, spearheaded by Sen. <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/tom-cotton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Cotton</a> (R-AR), told more than four dozen law firms to warn corporate clients about “the risks they incur by participating in climate cartels and other ill-advised ESG schemes,” referencing the fact that FTC Commissioner Lina Khan recently said during a hearing that there is no “ESG exemption” to antitrust laws.
“The ESG movement attempts to weaponize corporations to reshape society in ways that Americans would never endorse at the ballot box,” the letter stated. “Of particular concern is the collusive effort to restrict the supply of coal, oil, and gas, which is driving up energy costs across the globe and empowering America’s adversaries abroad.”
Beyond asset managers encouraging portfolio companies to rapidly pivot toward renewable energy, six major banks recently came under <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/conservative-attorneys-general-investigate-six-major-banks-for-wokeness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrutiny</a> from Republican state attorneys general for jointly vowing to discourage fossil fuel use and investment. The financial institutions were served with civil investigative demands requesting details about their involvement with Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a <a href="https://www.unepfi.org/net-zero-banking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">project</a> of the United Nations which seeks to unify bank portfolios toward the goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2050.
“Over the coming months and years, Congress will increasingly use its oversight powers to scrutinize the institutionalized antitrust violations being committed in the name of ESG, and refer those violations to the FTC and the Department of Justice,” the letter added. “To the extent that your firm continues to advise clients regarding participation in ESG initiatives, both you and those clients should take care to preserve relevant documents in anticipation of those investigations.”
The letter was also endorsed by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Republican officials in South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, West Virginia, and Utah have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/missouri-is-the-latest-state-to-divest-from-blackrock-pulls-500-million-in-pension-funds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divested funds</a> from BlackRock and other asset managers engaged in the ESG movement, under which executives encourage portfolio companies to adopt green energy standards, introduce racial hiring quotas, or otherwise mingle activism with maximizing profits.
Conservatives also argue that the ESG movement threatens the economy of many states by discouraging fossil fuel investment. The government of Texas recently concluded that BlackRock and nine other firms had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-cuts-ties-with-blackrock-other-woke-firms-over-their-hatred-for-fossil-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violated</a> state law by “refusing to deal with” companies involved in the production and use of fossil fuels “without an ordinary business purpose.”
BlackRock responded to the states’ criticism and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-makes-major-change-after-backlash-against-woke-investing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broader market forces</a> by extending voting choice to more institutional investors, allowing public and private clients to vote their own shares in portfolio companies instead of surrendering such rights to asset managers. “It’s clear there are investors who don’t want to sit on the sidelines; they have a view on corporate governance, and they want a meaningful way to express those views,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink wrote in a letter. “While some pension funds have long been actively involved in corporate governance, we’re working to make that easier and more efficient for a larger number of investors.”

Tom Cotton

Republican Senators Fire Warning Shot, Threaten To Investigate Woke Corporations Over Anti-Fossil Fuel Collusion

Republican Senators Hint Future Investigations Into ESG

Politics

Three <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/uber">Uber</a> and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/lyft">Lyft</a> drivers filed a class action lawsuit in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/california">California</a> on Tuesday over alleged <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antitrust">anticompetitive</a> practices that impact gig <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/economy">economy</a> workers.
The two firms “label their drivers independent contractors, yet deprive those drivers of economic independence by fixing the prices that drivers must charge to customers for rides,” according to the <a href="https://towardsjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Uber-Lyft-Complaint.6.20.2022-3.pdf">suit</a> filed by legal nonprofit Towards Justice, which argued that the drivers would have increased earnings under a regime with more pricing freedom.
“Uber and Lyft have insisted that they do not employ their drivers,” David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice, said in a <a href="https://towardsjustice.org/2022/06/21/press-release-drivers-sue-to-block-uber-lyfts-illegal-price-fixing/">press release</a>. “But if Uber and Lyft are not employers responsible to their employees under labor standards laws, then they are powerful corporations that fix prices, abuse their power, and deceive the workers who drive their profits.”
Beyond the purported price fixing, the plaintiffs argue that Uber and Lyft have been taking greater portions of the sums that riders pay for the service.
Two years ago, a California court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uber-lyft-avoid-state-wide-shutdown-amidst-legal-battle-with-california">ruled in favor</a> of Uber and Lyft in a lawsuit that would have pressed the firms to classify independent contractors as employees. The most recent lawsuit against the firms also comes one year after Democratic lawmakers introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-democrats-pro-act-three-things-you-need-to-know">narrow the definition</a> of an independent contractor under the guise of granting them more protections.
“Big Labor incrementally attacks any form of gig work, or contracting, and they come for ride sharing companies first,” Gabriella Hoffman, a freelance media strategist and Townhall columnist who has written extensively about the gig economy, told The Daily Wire. “If you poll rideshare drivers, however, they voluntarily go into this line of work and enjoy the flexibility that comes with the job.”
Indeed, Uber released a poll in 2020 showing that drivers preferred to remain as independent contractors when offered a handful of benefits by the company, according to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2020/08/25/uber-independent-contractors-employees-poll">Axios</a>. Another poll from Lyft likewise showed that most drivers preferred their contractor arrangements.
<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/12/08/the-state-of-gig-work-in-2021/">Pew Research</a> found in 2021 that 16% of Americans — including 30% of Hispanics, 20% of African Americans, and 12% of whites — have participated in gig economy work, such as shopping for and delivering groceries, cleaning homes, or delivering packages. Young Americans and those with low incomes are most likely to earn money through a gig platform.
“Independent contracting liberates workers from the constraints of traditional work — including unionized jobs,” Hoffman argued. “Workers want more flexibility and freedom to be more fulfilled in their careers. &#8230; Freelancing, as a whole, is a pro-family, pro-free enterprise, pro-free market policy that empowers individuals. And it&#8217;s a great option for women who juggle career and family.”
Although unemployment is presently 3.6% and wages are nominally rising, real average hourly wages <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm">dropped</a> 3% between May 2021 and May 2022 amid rising inflation — meaning that Americans must tighten their budgets or work more than last year to enjoy the same standard of living. Accordingly, a poll taken earlier this year by <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220413006071/en/Rising-Inflation-Leads-More-Workers-to-the-Gig-Economy-Citing-Increased-Expenses-and-Fuel-Costs">Branch and Marqeta</a> showed that 85% of respondents “increased or planned to increase their gig work,” with 58% “citing inflation as the primary reason.”

Close up of young woman using mobile app device on smartphone to arrange taxi ride in downtown city street, with illuminated busy city traffic scene during rush hour with traffic congestion in the evening

New Legal Battle Begins Over Gig Economy Work At Uber And Lyft

Uber And Lyft Drivers Sue Companies For Antitrust Violation

California

Jobs

Lyft

Uber

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) on Thursday called for Disney to lose its “copyright protections” and for Major League Baseball (MLB) to lose its “longstanding antitrust exemption.”
In an opinion piece for <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/end-economic-handouts-woke-corporations-sen-josh-hawley.amp">Fox News</a> entitled “It&#8217;s time to end economic handouts for woke corporations,” the conservative lawmaker wrote that “today’s multinationals have embraced a toxic blend of offshoring and woke politics, selling out American workers even as they attack American values.” 
Hawley emphasized large corporations’ efforts to speak into debates over social policy, especially noting their progressive leanings. “Big business’s priorities now apparently extend to voter ID laws, abortion, and sex education classes for younger and younger children, to name just a few examples,” he said.
In reference to Disney executives’ efforts to inject more LGBTQ representation into its programming while appeasing “Chinese censors” to “avoid losing access to a lucrative market,” Hawley suggested that Congress should end Disney’s copyright protections for characters like Mickey Mouse, which have been “extended further and further into the future.”
Earlier this week, Hawley proposed the “Copyright Clause Restoration Act,” which would limit new copyright protections to 56 years and retroactively change protections for companies like Disney that “have been granted unnecessarily long copyright monopolies.”
“Under Congress’s current sweetheart deal, companies like Disney have been granted certain copyright protections for up to 120 years — well beyond the original maximum of 28 years,” a <a href="https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-introduces-bill-strip-disney-special-copyright-protections">statement</a> from the lawmaker’s office explained. 
Hawley also argued in his opinion piece that MLB was “all too happy to try to bully the State of Georgia over its election integrity laws.” He said it should therefore “lose its longstanding antitrust exemption, which no other industry enjoys in the same way.” He also called for “a flat ban on further acquisitions” for “the very largest firms.”
Last year, Hawley and other Republican lawmakers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cruz-hawley-lee-team-up-on-bill-to-strip-mlb-of-monopoly-protections-over-georgia-boycott">introduced</a> a bill to strip MLB of its antitrust exemptions after it chose to relocate its 2021 All-Star Game and rookie draft out of Atlanta in response to election reform efforts. 
“By eliminating special preferences and carve outs, we can support competition in the economy, and encourage innovation and the rise of new firms that can challenge the big incumbents, all while turbocharging prosperity here at home,” Hawley concluded.
Indeed, Hawley is a leading voice among Republican proponents of antitrust legislation. Last spring, he <a href="https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senator-hawley-introduces-bust-big-tech-act">proposed</a> the “Bust Up Big Tech Act” to break up companies “seeking to dominate multiple industries simultaneously.”
“Woke Big Tech companies like Google and Amazon have been coddled by Washington politicians for years,” Hawley said. “This treatment has allowed them to amass colossal amounts of power that they use to censor political opinions they don’t agree with and shut out competitors who offer consumers an alternative to the status quo. It’s past time to bust up Big Tech companies, restore competition, and give the power back to the American consumers.”
Last summer, a bipartisan group of lawmakers likewise introduced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bipartisan-antitrust-bills-would-break-up-amazon-google-apple-facebook">suite of antitrust bills</a> meant to limit the market power of technology companies. While conservatives like Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) noted the censorship of free speech, progressives like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) stressed the maxim of “people over profits.”
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids">announced</a> plans for kids entertainment content.)

Senate Moves Ahead With Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court Nomination

‘End Economic Handouts For Woke Corporations’: Josh Hawley Calls For Disney To Lose Copyright Protections, MLB To Lose Antitrust Exemption

Senator Josh Hawley Argues 'Woke' Disney And MLB Should Lose Special 'Handouts' From Congress

Corporations

Disney

Josh Hawley

Elon Musk&#8217;s $44 billion buyout of Twitter is being reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), according to a new report.
Bloomberg News first reported the news on Thursday, with the FTC declining to comment.
&#8220;Under U.S. merger law, Musk is required to notify the FTC and the Justice Department of the transaction and wait at least 30 days before closing to allow an investigation into potential antitrust concerns,&#8221; Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-05/musk-faces-ftc-antitrust-review-on-twitter-alongside-stock-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;The FTC can ask for additional information, issuing what’s known as a second request, which would further delay closing,&#8221; the report added.
The deal is not expected to be blocked, but critics have claimed the new purchase will give Musk too much control over free speech.
A letter sent by more than two dozen groups after the announcement that Musk&#8217;s offer to buy Twitter had been accepted has also sought to discredit his purchase by urging advertisers to boycott the platform.
“In a letter sent to brands Tuesday ahead of the 2022 NewFronts digital advertising conference, more than two dozen civil society groups said marketers should secure commitments from Twitter to retain its most critical policies, including on civic integrity and hateful conduct, and threaten to withdraw funding if Twitter does not comply,” CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/03/tech/twitter-letter-content-policies/index.html?utm_term=link&amp;utm_source=twCNN&amp;utm_content=2022-05-03T19%3A15%3A05&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in the article Musk linked in one of his own posts responding to the controversy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Who funds these organizations that want to control your access to information? Let’s investigate …<a href="https://t.co/dBFsGjOMC8">https://t.co/dBFsGjOMC8</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1521574041814978562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Musk questioned the effort in another <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1521950798745194496" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a>, stating, &#8220;I wonder if those funding these organizations are fully aware of what the organizations are doing.&#8221;
In addition, on Wednesday, a digital safety committee within the U.K. Parliament invited Musk to answer questions about his new changes for Twitter.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-invited-to-testify-about-twitter-by-u-k-parliament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> the U.K. government&#8217;s concerns may be related to new draft legislation revealed in March that included potential criminal prosecution of big tech leaders who fail to comply with the country’s online safety rules.
In contrast, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Nathan Simington <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/plainly-un-american-fcc-commissioner-shoots-down-leftist-calls-to-stop-elon-musk-buying-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> calls for the FCC to stop Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, instead calling for regulators and the general public to welcome it as a win for freedom of speech online.
“Some have recently called on the FCC to stop Elon Musk from acquiring Twitter,” Simington said in a <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/simington-comments-acquisition-twitter">statement</a> Monday. “But nothing in the United States Code or our regulations gives us the right to interfere with this transaction. Our competition review authority does not and has never extended to internet platforms like Twitter.”
Fellow Commissioner <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/carr-rejects-call-fcc-block-musks-purchase-twitter">Brendan Carr</a> rejected the notion after Left-wing advocacy group <a href="https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications/open-markets-details-how-us-government-can-block-musk-takeover-of-twitter">Open Markets Institute</a> published a statement calling on the FCC, FTC, and DOJ to block the purchase. “The FCC has no authority to block Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, and to suggest otherwise is absurd,” Carr said. “I would welcome the full FCC making it clear that we will not entertain these types of frivolous arguments.”

Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s Twitter Buyout To Face FTC Antitrust Review: Report

Elon Musk's $44 Billion Twitter Buyout To Face Antitrust Review By FTC: Report

Social Media

Twitter

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be handling the antitrust review in the United States of Microsoft’s proposed multi-billion dollar acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard Inc., according to reports.
“The FTC will oversee the investigation into whether the takeover will harm competition, instead of the Justice Department, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the review. The two agencies share responsibility for antitrust reviews of mergers and often reach agreements about which one will investigate a deal,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-01/microsoft-deal-for-activision-to-be-reviewed-by-ftc-in-u-s">Bloomberg</a> reported. “FTC Chair Lina Khan has long advocated for a more forceful approach to reviewing deals, particularly by the biggest technology companies, which she says are able to leverage their dominance in one line of business to gain power in other markets. Under her leadership, the agency has sued to block two major takeovers — Nvidia Corp.’s proposed purchase of Arm Ltd. and Lockheed Martin Corp.’s deal to buy of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.”
Microsoft <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/microsoft-to-buy-activision-blizzard-for-68-7-billion-in-all-cash-deal">announced</a> its plans to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard in a deal worth a reported $68.7 billion back in January.
“With three billion people actively playing games today, and fueled by a new generation steeped in the joys of interactive entertainment, gaming is now the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment,” the Big Tech icon announced in a <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2022/01/18/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/">statement</a>. “Today, Microsoft Corp. announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc., a leader in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher. This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.”
“When the transaction closes, Microsoft will become the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony,” Microsoft announced. “The planned acquisition includes iconic franchises from the Activision, Blizzard and King studios like ‘Warcraft,’ ‘Diablo,’ ‘Overwatch,’ ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Candy Crush,’ in addition to global eSports activities through Major League Gaming. The company has studios around the world with nearly 10,000 employees.”
“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Satya Nadella, executive chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”
“Players everywhere love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams have their best work in front of them,” said Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming. “Together we will build a future where people can play the games they want, virtually anywhere they want.”
“For more than 30 years our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, who will continue to serve in this role following the acquisition. “The combination of Activision Blizzard’s world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft’s technology, distribution, access to talent, ambitious vision and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry.”
This acquisition would be the largest ever by Microsoft, as well as within the gaming world, with the company expecting the deal “to close in fiscal year 2023.” 
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at<a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth"> @ighaworth</a>.

FTC Will Review Microsoft’s $68.7 Billion Activision Blizzard Deal

Video Games

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