Microsoft vs. FTC: first preliminary hearing is over

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The first preliminary hearing in the lawsuit between the FTC and Microsoft has concluded, with Microsoft seemingly confident that it can settle with the Federal Trade Commission as soon as possible.

The hearing was held online, and apparently, there were some technical problems with the transmission; Microsoft's lawyers and members of Activision Blizzard's board of directors were briefly unable to get in due to too many people connected.

FTC attorney James Weingarten said the agency has no plans "at this time" to file a lawsuit in federal court. The FTC authorized staff to participate in settlement talks, but "there are no substantive discussions at this time." pic.twitter.com/RMxwt13nvJ

— Alan Feely (@IdleSlothVGT) January 3, 2023

A successful meeting?

Since this is a preliminary hearing, nothing concrete has emerged; the FTC lets it be known that it does not want to get in front of the Federal Court Judge. Therefore, the Federal Trade Commission has reportedly begun talks with Microsoft. However, there is no certainty about that at the moment.

Microsoft is confident it will soon be able to conclude a settlement with the FTC and the other bodies dealing with the matter. Ideally, the idea is to be able to file the lawsuit within a few months, with Microsoft wanting to try to settle it before the final date set for its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which is July 2023.

And we're done. The most interesting part was the unexpected drama of dropped calls...

— Leah AntiTrustButVer1fy Nylen (@leah_nylen) January 3, 2023

In case you missed it: Microsoft x Activision, the deal continues in 2023.

The FTC, on the other hand, does not seem to have any particular interest in speeding up the timetable; let us also recall that in case the agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is not concluded, the Redmond-based company will have to pay a penalty of three billion dollars to the publisher. Therefore, there are no particular or significant developments; we await further updates.

Do you think this purchase will go through? Let us know in the comments!