Following Activision’s veto, Microsoft’s Smith meets the UK finance minister. Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) president met Britain’s finance minister on Tuesday and said he would work with regulators to get UK permission for its $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” creator Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O).
The two organizations were incensed after British competition officials vetoed gaming’s biggest-ever merger in April, questioning if the country was still accessible to tech giants.
Microsoft appealed, and its president, Brad Smith, visited British finance minister Jeremy Hunt in London on Tuesday, a government source said.
In London, Smith said, “I’m in search of solutions.”
We’ll address regulator concerns. We fix issues. We want to meet UK regulatory criteria that exceed EU ones.”
According to rumors, Smith would see CMA officials in London this week. He had always been “bullish on the United Kingdom as a great place to live, learn, build.”
Smith said the CMA veto would damage tech confidence in Britain.
In May, the EU approved the Activision deal after Microsoft presented remedies similar to those in the UK.
After the FTC said the purchase would stifle competition, Microsoft appealed.
British appeals be heard next month, with a judgment expected in August or September.
On Tuesday, Smith said tech corporations should not rule AI. “It needs to be subject to the rule of law,” he said. “And we will need regulations to govern it.”
He claimed Microsoft and its partner OpenAI were already utilizing a safety board to examine their AI models’ features and standards before deployment, which could be copied.
“Just like an aeroplane, bus, or automobile, a powerful model will probably need to pass such a review,” he stated. It probably needs a license.
“And of course, that means there needs to be a licensor in a position to make that decision.”
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