3 ms·
They can issue fines to Microsoft UK and ultimately block Microsoft from the market. UK is 67 million people, so not as big as USA and EU, but significant enou
by pavlov 4y ago
They can issue fines to Microsoft UK and ultimately block Microsoft from the market.
UK is 67 million people, so not as big as USA and EU, but significant enough that in balance it’s not worth the perpetual multi-year headache that Microsoft would have explaining the situation to shareholders if they were not to comply.
- joshgree8888888 4y agoThey would never be allowed to block Microsoft from the market though - the NHS runs on windows, and basically every other arm of our government - surely the fines wouldn't ever be more than the gain due to the merger?
- pavlov 4y agoIn antitrust fines are generally not capped, since the whole point is to make giant companies pay attention. The EU fined Google 2.4B euros in 2017, then 4.3B again the following year. Even for Google, 7 billion USD isn’t play money. A market block wouldn’t have to be all or nothing. Maybe start with the offending products: Activision games, Microsoft’s cloud gaming service, etc.