regulatory intervention Archives

AppWizard

October 17, 2025

Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of Electronic Arts faces pushback from game developers, petition calls on FTC to ‘scrutinize this deal closely’

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, along with private equity firms, is acquiring Electronic Arts (EA) for a billion dollars, facing significant resistance from the United Videogame Workers-CWA union. The union has urged regulators to prioritize job protection, creative freedom, and accountability in decision-making. EA, with annual revenues of .5 billion and profits of billion, is not in distress, but concerns have been raised about potential layoffs, particularly at BioWare, a studio known for its progressive narrative approach. The union warned that job losses would be a choice made for investor profit rather than necessity. U.S. senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren have expressed concerns about national security risks related to the acquisition, but regulatory intervention seems unlikely due to a shift in the FTC's stance and the involvement of Jared Kushner in the deal. The union has initiated a petition to prompt regulatory examination of the acquisition.

Winsage

July 30, 2025

Opera throws Microsoft to Brazil’s watchdogs for promoting Edge as your default browser — “Microsoft thwarts‬‭ browser‬‭ competition‬‭‬‭ at‬‭ every‬‭ turn”

A 2024 report commissioned by Mozilla alleges that Microsoft employs misleading user interfaces and advertising tactics to promote its Edge browser, disadvantaging third-party browsers like Firefox. Mozilla has called for regulatory intervention against these practices. The European Commission designated Microsoft's services—Bing, Windows, LinkedIn, and Edge—as "gatekeeper services" in 2024, giving Microsoft six months to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) or face fines. Microsoft contends that Edge and Bing do not qualify as gatekeepers and were exempted from DMA regulation after an investigation. Opera has filed a complaint against Microsoft in the EU Courts, which may prompt a reevaluation of Edge’s status under the DMA. In response to regulatory changes, Microsoft announced measures in June to align Windows 11 with DMA requirements, including reducing the emphasis on its own applications like Edge.

Winsage

March 4, 2025

Four times Windows Server costs? Method in the Microsoft

Microsoft opposes regulatory intervention requests from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google regarding its software licensing practices, which the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has flagged as potentially harmful to competition in the cloud computing sector. Microsoft charges clients using its software in non-Azure environments significantly more—up to four times than those using Azure—leading AWS and Google to argue this pricing structure disadvantages them. The CMA has noted Microsoft's ability to limit access to its software for competitors, which Microsoft contests as an infringement on its intellectual property rights. Google has referred to Microsoft's additional costs as a "software tax," and research indicates that European customers have faced overcharges due to Microsoft's licensing policies. In 2023, AWS held nearly 50% of the UK's cloud market share, while Microsoft held between 30 to 40%, and Google Cloud remained a distant third. The CMA is evaluating whether to use its digital markets powers to address identified barriers, with a final decision expected later this year.