While change is not easy, we believe it’s possible to adapt to new rules and innovate successfully. In part this is because we have been adapting for two decades to antitrust rules, and we’ve learned from our experience. But as a company, we continue to be more focused on adapting to regulation than fighting against it. As others have pointed out, there are risks with any new regulation, and these deserve a fair hearing and thorough consideration. … We recognize that the emerging new era of tech regulation brings with it both benefits and risks, not just for a single company but for our entire industry. Microsoft framed the new ideology as a preemptive effort to accommodate regulatory changes, but it’s also clearly an appeal to the federal government to sign off on the acquisition: Microsoft President Brad Smith addressed regulators directly in a new blog post Wednesday, striking a cooperative tone and outlining a set of “Open App Store Principles” that the company will adopt in light of proposed regulation and its own plans to buy a cluster of the world’s most popular gaming titles. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that the proposed acquisition will be reviewed by the FTC, an agency now chaired by Lina Khan, an antitrust scholar keen to disrupt escalating consolidation in the tech industry. With the Activision Blizzard deal on the table, that’s unlikely to last. Microsoft’s name doesn’t come up in contentious conversations about social networks, advertising or online marketplaces, so the massive company has managed to mostly fly under the radar in recent years in spite of its size. In the U.S., lawmakers and regulatory agencies have largely focused on some of the tech giant’s peers, particularly Meta (formerly Facebook), Google, Apple and Amazon. The acquisition isn’t exactly ill-fated, but it’s a risky time for Microsoft to attract attention from regulators. The company announced its intention to buy Activision Blizzard last month in a deal that would be worth $68.7 billion - the largest gaming acquisition of all time, if the deal goes through. Microsoft is working to warm lawmakers up to its plans to bring a collection of the world’s most popular video games under its wing.
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