A federal judge has temporarily blocked Microsoft’s planned $69 billion purchase of video game company Activision Blizzard

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 13, 2023--

Amazon’s cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services experienced an outage on Tuesday, affecting publishers that suddenly found themselves unable to operate their sites

The warning comes ahead of the European Parliament voting on rules to regulate artificial intelligence.

Amazon Web Services was hit by a wide-ranging outage on Tuesday afternoon that impacted a large number of major websites, including the Boston Globe and New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority.

Thousands of Reddit communities have gone dark this week in protest of upcoming API changes, which include a controversial policy that will charge some third-party apps for continued use

Amazon’s cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services experienced an outage on Tuesday, affecting publishers that suddenly found themselves unable to operate their sites

McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Delta were among dozens of websites that went down after Amazon’s cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services crashed. The outage, which took place on Wednesday afternoon according to DownDetector, also impacted The Associated Press as they tried to cover the criminal arraignment of former president Donald Trump. Amazon said that the cause of the issue was linked to a function called AWS Lambda, which allows customers to run code for different types of applications. Amazon said it was experiencing multiple error rates for multiple AWS services in an availability zone based in Northern Virginia, reported CBS News. The AWS Health Dashboard stated that issues in the US-East-1 region started at around 3pm ET. “Many AWS services are now fully recovered and marked Resolved on this event. We are continuing to work to fully recover all services,” the company posted at 5pm ET. Read More Amazon using AI to crack down on fake review ‘brokers’ Revealed: The delivery apps charging you double for your food shop Amazon staff spied on women private through Ring cameras, officials say

Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud-computing arm is working to resolve an outage that disrupted a swath of websites and services,

Mistral AI, a new startup from former DeepMind and Meta Platforms Inc. researchers, has raised €105 million ($113

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 13, 2023--

The US Federal Trade Commission has sued to stop Microsoft buying Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard. It is just the latest problem for the deal, which has already been blocked by UK regulators. If completed, it will become one of the largest takeovers ever – but has faced scrutiny from regulators around the world, who argue that it might cause problems for the gaming market. The FTC's Monday filing in a federal court in San Francisco seeks a restraining order and injunction to stop Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of the California gaming company behind hit franchises such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Microsoft, maker of the Xbox game system, has been struggling to win worldwide approval for the deal with just over a month before the deadline to close it, according to the contract it signed with Activision. “We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court," said a statement Monday from Brad Smith, Microsoft's vice chair and president. "We believe accelerating the legal process in the U.S will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market.” The FTC already took Microsoft to court to block the merger, but that was before the U.S. agency's in-house judge in a trial set to start on Aug. 2. That administrative process doesn't preclude the parties from closing the deal. The contract between Microsoft and Activision required the deal to close by July 18, but the FTC's latest action seeks to stop that from happening. “Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have represented in the past that they cannot close their deal due to antitrust reviews of the transaction in other jurisdictions," the FTC said in a statement Monday. "But Microsoft and Activision have not provided assurances that they will maintain that position. In light of that, and public reporting that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are considering closing their deal imminently, we have filed a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent them from closing while review continues.” Microsoft's other main obstacle is in the United Kingdom, where antitrust regulators have also taken action to block the acquisition. The all-cash deal announced in January 2022 has been scrutinized by regulators around the world over fears that it would give Microsoft and its Xbox console control of Activision's hit franchises and give it an unfair boost in the emerging business of cloud-based game subscriptions. It could be the priciest tech industry merger in history. Fierce opposition has been driven by rival Sony, which makes the PlayStation gaming system. Microsoft sought to counter the resistance by striking a deal with Nintendo to license Activision titles like Call of Duty for 10 years and offering the same to Sony if the deal went ahead. European regulators representing the 27-nation bloc approved the deal last month on condition that Microsoft make some promises meant to boost competition in the cloud-based gaming market. A number of other countries, including China, Japan, Brazil and South Korea, have also approved it. But the blockbuster deal has remained in jeopardy because of the surprise April decision by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority and the ongoing case in the U.S. Microsoft in late May filed an appeal of the British regulator's decision and has also voiced strong public opposition directed at top government officials. U.S.-based consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, an opponent of the deal, welcomed the FTC's move Monday. “Although the agency has already used its authority to block the merger through administrative proceedings, Microsoft is pushing to culminate the purchase of Activision before the agency can finish its process," said a statement from Public Citizen's competition policy advocate Matt Kent. ""By filing in federal court to enjoin the transaction, the FTC is showing that it won’t back down in the face of Microsoft’s escalatory tactics.” Additional reporting by Associated Press