Chaired by Lina Khan, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has come in for a lot of trouble for trying to be aggressive in regulating tech companies and preventing monopolies. Now the FTC faces criticism from both congressional Republicans and very online Xbox fans to appeal against a recent court decision That gave Microsoft the green light to complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
After lose a restraining order On July 12, the FTC appealed to the Ninth Circuit to block the $69 billion merger pending review. The company has since also filed a stay in the Northern District Court of California to prevent the deal from going through pending appeal as the July 18 acquisition deadline nears. “Your tax dollars at work” tweeted Blizzard President Mike Ybarrawho was previously a longtime corporate VP at Microsoft.
Republicans in Congress took a similar stance. Testifying during an oversight hearing, Republican officials criticized Khan for pursuing too many antitrust cases and losing many of them. “They seem to be losing quite a bit, and I’m not saying that to be disrespectful, but this is taxpayer money, after all,” Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Ca.) said during the hearing (via IGN).
He continued, “Not only did the court reject your allegation of probable anticompetitive effect, it found the exact opposite.” The record evidence points to greater consumer access. So why should Americans trust your judgment when this Biden-appointed judge says you’re so far off the mark?” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Ca.), meanwhile, called Kahn a tyrant for trying to prevent Microsoft from gaining an advantage over its Japanese competitor Sony.
It didn’t take long for some of the loudest voices in the Xbox community to speak up. “Lina Khan is fried, roasted, boiled and buttered,” wrote influencer UniSensei. Retweet hearing material like it’s an E3 press conference. “OUCH! Maybe you should prioritize consumers and competitive markets and not a political line, then you won’t get upset, Khan.” tweeted YouTuber Colteastwood.
A Antitrust lawyer appointed to the FTC When Khan was proclaimed by President Biden in 2021, she responded simply and impartially. “We fight back strongly when we believe there has been a violation of the law, and unfortunately things don’t always go the way we want them to,” she said during the hearing. That’s the agency’s job, after all, regardless of what fans, executives, or politicians it might upset.
