Senators call on FTC to review Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal

Four United States senators have called on Federal Trade Commission chairwoman Lina Khan to investigate Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. In an open letter, Senators. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Cory Booker urged Khan to examine two companies that they say have “failed to protect the rights and dignity of their workers.”

“Workers at Activision Blizzard, following years of rampant sexual misconduct and discrimination and unfair labor practices, have led calls for greater transparency and accountability in the gaming industry, and we are deeply concerned that this acquisition could further disenfranchise these workers and prevent their voices from being heard,” the senators wrote.

Warren, Sanders, Whitehouse, and Booker said the FTC should oppose the deal if it finds “the transaction is likely to enhance monopsony power and worsen the negotiating position between workers and the parties.”

Microsoft first announced that it would acquire Activision Blizzard in January. A Bloomberg report stated that the FTC (rather than the Justice Department regulators) would then review the transaction. Activision Blizzard is also facing numerous lawsuits in relation to the Microsoft acquisition, including allegations of systemic harassment and discrimination.

A discrimination suit was filed against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was settled for $18 million earlier this week, an agreement the Communication Workers of America (CWA) called “woefully inadequate.” A lawsuit involving the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing is ongoing.

Bobby Kotick is Activision’s chief executive, and he will remain in charge of the company until the Microsoft deal closes. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kotick is being investigated by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice for possible insider trading.

Activision Blizzard QA employees voiced their dissatisfaction with the work they were being asked to do, as well as low wages and intense crunch. Activision has been facing lawsuits and allegations from workers across the entire company. Activision Blizzard QA workers, Raven Software QA workers, have been working to form a union and they are waiting for a National Labor Relations Board ruling that will establish the boundaries of this union.

The NLRB’s hearing concluded in February with Activision Blizzard accused by workers and union reps of union-busting actions and foot-dragging. A Microsoft representative said last week that the company “will not stand in the way” of any Activision Blizzard union should one be recognized, according to The Washington Post.

The four senators called Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard “a cynical and ‘opportunistic’ attempt to capitalize off the systemic issues coming to light at Activision Blizzard.” The senators noted that Microsoft’s bid to acquire Activision comes “during its crisis over weak worker protection,” and said the company’s history with its workers “also present[s] alarming signs for how Microsoft would treat Activision Blizzard employees.”

Neither Activision Blizzard nor Microsoft responded to Polygon’s request for comment before publication.