The recent application by Microsoft for Activision Blizzard has been blocked by The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for reasons of competition, yet Microsoft and Activision Blizzard believe it has everything to do with Brexit.
From Truss's pork markets in China, to Johnson's fisheries row with the French, trade hasn't exactly benefitted from the results of the Brexit vote. It's plain for all to see that it has, in fact, been disastrous for the economy. Leaving the world's largest single market will have drastic short-term effects on your economy, and any long-term benefits may just be covering previous losses.
Furthermore, this is why regulatory boards such as the CMA blocking takeovers like this one will be subject to scapegoating as a result of Brexit as well. Instead of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard accepting the decision as an affirmation that their ownership over global markets would create a monopoly, they have instead blamed the UK's departure from the EU to deflect from this assertion. Here, it may sound as if I am defending the Brexit vote; instead I am trying to highlight how corporations will now use the disaster of the 2016 referendum to depict the UK as a closed area of operations for businesses without much reason.
The reason for my use of the term "scapegoating" in this case is because of the unpersuasive argument that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard actually provide. They have taken the easy route to bandwagon on the UK government's inability to make any meaningful deals with other countries. When I read what the both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard had to say about the decision, their comments were concerned with the negative effect on investment and innovation that this would have in the UK. In his interview with the BBC, Microsoft president Brad Smith is quoted as saying 'There's a clear message here - the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the United Kingdom', which is very interesting, considering the EU have not even made their decision regarding the deal as of yet. They have jumped the gun there, just a bit.
The executive boards of these large corporations are able to disregard any factor besides Brexit so that they are not scrutinised accordingly, and the media frankly lap it up (as the headlines prove). The media, should instead focus on balance of argument from CMA as well as Microsoft and Activison Blizzard, citing the monopolisation of the UK gaming market, prematurity of cloud gaming platforms, and ambiguity of Activision's stance on these platforms. News companies must be careful not to overlook important information for the sake of impartiality, otherwise it may cause the indictment of Brexit to become worse without realising it.
Comments