Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
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Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#2Aside from the other arguments in the article:
"The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter.
AFAIK most US agencies are similarly disconnected or worse.
Whether "unelected" is a meaningful criticism to level at government systems is a separate question though. I feel like most roles are not ones where the voter could realistically have enough knowledge or education to actually make good decisions about who to appoint to roles with obscure or complex mandates. We seem to take democracy as an absolute good in all cases sometimes even though uninformed decisions can have catastrophic effects.
EDIT: I really shouldn't have to clarify this but apparently we're at the point where "this article poorly argues its thesis" is interpreted by some readers as "I love monopolies and/or activision"? So to be explicit: I think we need more antitrust enforcement, not less, but the article seems to make this case in a clumsy if not deceptive way
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#3Aside from the other arguments in the article: "The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. AFAIK most US…
what would you propose as an alternative?
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#4Aside from the other arguments in the article: "The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. AFAIK most US…
what would you propose as an alternative?
I'm not convinced we need an alternative in this case. The article proposes that Smith's complaint is uninformed, but it seems more likely that his alternative might just not be any better.
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#5Aside from the other arguments in the article: "The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. AFAIK most US…
This was the right decision
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#6Aside from the other arguments in the article: "The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. AFAIK most US…
>"The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter.
You should see the European Commission.
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#7Aside from the other arguments in the article: "The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. AFAIK most US…
This was the right decision
My comment does not express even light disagreement with the decision.
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#8What would happen if Activision is acquired anyway by Microsoft? Could they simply exist as two separate entities in the UK, and a unified entity elsewhere? With all of the repercussions that entails for the users? Or simply they exit the market in the UK?
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#9Aside from the other arguments in the article: "The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. AFAIK most US…
>"The chair of the CMA, its chief executive and the rest of the board are appointed by the business secretary of the elected government" if I'm reading this correctly, UK citizens elect a government, the government appoints a business secretary, and then the business secretary appoints the entire CMA? So that would be two layers of disconnect from the voter. You should see the European Commission.
In what sense? I'm not complaining about it, just observing that the article appears to defend it as elected when it is unelected. Smith's complaint potentially being factually true doesn't make it a valid criticism.
Re: Ignore Microsoft’s whines about the Activision takeover. The CMA did its job
#10What would happen if Activision is acquired anyway by Microsoft? Could they simply exist as two separate entities in the UK, and a unified entity elsewhere? With all of the repercussions that entails for the users? Or simply they exit the market in the UK?
I don't think Microsoft wants to find out.