Microsoft granted access to internal Sony documents as part of FTC lawsuit
Sony's attempt to quash or limit a subpoena it was served by Microsoft as part of the latter's ongoing legal battle with U.S. regulator the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been denied in part, and granted in part.
Microsoft is currently trading blows with the FTC over its bid to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, and back in January subpoenaed Sony to gain access to documents that would lay out the scope of its video game business.
Why? Microsoft has repeatedly claimed its proposed Acitvison Blizzard merger wouldn't harm competition, because rivals like Sony have the ability to adapt and compete. It wants to obtain documents from Sony that show how much (or how little) the deal would harm its business, but Sony wasn't willing to play ball.
In February, the PlayStation maker filed a motion to quash or limit the subpoena, but that motion has only been granted in part. That means Microsoft will be able to get its hands on some crucial documentation.
First off, let's take a look at which of Sony's requests were actually granted.
In an order sent out on February 23, 2023, FTC chief administrative law judge D. Michael Chappell agreed with Sony that Microsoft shouldn't be able to request files created before January 1, 2019, which will only give the Xbox maker access to documents from the past five years.
Microsoft had been pushing for Sony to produce documents "going back 10 years," which the judge found to be "excessive" given the case doesn't "centre on past conduct but on the alleged likelihood of anticompetitive effects in the future."
The judge also quashed a request that would have allowed Microsoft to seek documents related to "performance reviews or evaluations" of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE)
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