Microsoft, Activision deal could close within days

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column. last . border{border:0;padding:5px 20px 25px 5px}} Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter{beacon} Technology Technology  The Big Story Microsoft, Activision acquisition clears hurdle Microsoft can go forward with its $69-billion acquisition of video game developer Activision Blizzard after a judge on Tuesday declined the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) request for a preliminary injunction.

  © AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File/Mark LennihanThe judge’s ruling allows the tech company to move ahead with its plans to acquire the developer behind popular games like “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft. ” The FTC argued the merger could harm competition in the market if Microsoft, the company behind the Xbox game system, had control over popular video game franchises.

   District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, however, wrote that the FTC failed to make that case.    “The FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets,” Corley wrote as part of the 53-page redacted opinion.    The deal could close within days.

  The FTC sued Microsoft last year to block the merger, and the case was brought to the agency’s in-house judge.  A trial is set to start on Aug. 2, but the FTC requested the preliminary injunction last month in an effort to block it from going through ahead of the regulator’s in-house trial.

  FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said in a statement the agency is “disappointed in this outcome given the clear threat this merger poses to open competition in cloud gaming, subscription services, and consoles. ”   Read more in a full report at TheHill. com.

  Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we’re Rebecca Klar and Ines Kagubare — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: Twitter traffic plunges after Musk takeover, Threads debut Twitter’s traffic has plunged since billionaire Elon Musk took control of the social media platform last fall, as longtime tweeters are migrating to alternative platforms such as Meta’s Threads.

  In a tweet Sunday, Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, an internet services company, posted a chart showing Twitter has been on the decline since the start of 2023. Twitter’s skidding numbers arrive as Meta officially launches …  Full Story SpaceX sets a new reusability record SpaceX launched one of its Falcon 9 rockets for a record-setting 16th time this week, lofting another batch of Starlink internet satellites into space. The booster, designated B1058 by SpaceX, made its debut in May 2020, carrying two NASA astronauts — Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — into space.

Riding in a Crew Dragon capsule, the duo would spend a few months on the International Space Station as part of a demonstration mission …  Full Story No, photos won’t be permanently deleted from your iPhone later this monthDespite some fears voiced by customers online, Apple will not be mass-deleting user photos from its devices near the end of the month. The tech giant recently announced that it will be doing away with its My Photo Stream service July 26, but that doesn’t mean photos are going away anytime soon. The My Photo Stream service uploads users’ most recent 1,000 photos to iCloud automatically, for free, enabling access to them …  Full Story The Refresh  News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: Microsoft bond investors cautious over Activision deal The investors are wary of how the deal could impact the tech giant’s balance sheet, Bloomberg reported.

Teen accused of organizing hacks against tech companies The two UK teenagers were accused of being part of a hacking group known as Lapsus$ and were charged with computer misuse, blackmail and fraud, Bloomberg reported.   On Our Radar  Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching: #list-r18c0m2 ul{margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important;} #list-r18c0m2 ul li{mso-special-format: bullet;}#list-r18c0m2 . levelOne li {margin-top: 0 !important;} #list-r18c0m2 .

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levelFour {margin-left: 112px !important;} The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing to consider nominations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday at 10 a. m. ET.

  The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a nomination hearing to consider President Biden’s pick to lead the NSA and the U. S. Cyber Command on Wednesday at 2:30 p.

m. ET. In Other News  Branch out with other reads on The Hill: Amazon union is sued by former members seeking a new election for union officersNew York (AP) — A dissenting group composed of some former members of the fledgling union that successfully organized an Amazon warehouse in New York has filed a lawsuit accusing the union of violating its own constitution and is asking a court to step in and force an election for union officers.

 … Full Story What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: MyPillow auctions off equipment amid ‘massive cancellation,’ CEO Lindell says MyPillow is auctioning off hundreds of pieces of equipment and subleasing some manufacturing spaces amid what founder and CEO Mike Lindell calls “a … Read more Justice Alito: States don’t always know what’s best for children In reality, there is no single “best” environment for every child, compared to which all others are inferior or victimizing, which a judge can determine … Read more What Others are Reading  Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: #list-r26c0m2 ul{margin: 0 !important; padding: 0 !important;} #list-r26c0m2 ul li{mso-special-format: bullet;}#list-r26c0m2 . levelOne li {margin-top: 0 !important;} #list-r26c0m2 . levelOne {margin-left: -20px !important;}#list-r26c0m2 .

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levelThree {margin-left: 68px !important;}#list-r26c0m2 . levelFour li {margin-top: 0 !important;} #list-r26c0m2 . levelFour {margin-left: 112px !important;} Thanks to AI, the Wagner mutiny will only briefly hamper Russian disinformation You’re all caught up.

See you tomorrow! .