UK chancellor wags his finger at CMA after Activision acquisition block, urging it to 'understand its wider responsibilities'

pcgamer.com:

The UK government sure does seem to be a bit antsy about the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) decision to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard(opens in new tab). Two days ago, a gaggle of MPs asked the market regulator(opens in new tab) if it had not, perhaps, been a bit shortsighted when it decided to stop the deal, and now Jeremy Hunt—the Chancellor of the Exchequer (equivalent to the US Treasury Secretary)—has stuck his oar in too (via The Telegraph(opens in new tab)).

To be fair, Hunt measured his words, emphasising the independence of the CMA and pointing out that the US Federal Trade Commission is trying to block the deal too. «When it comes to Microsoft,» Hunt told the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference yesterday, «there was a merger between two American companies that the US regulator is seeking to block, and the UK regulator took the same view». He also said that he believed one of the reasons «companies like Microsoft and Google» want to invest in the UK is because it has «independent regulators that are not controlled by politicians».

But it was at that point the finger-wagging began. «I would not want to undermine [the CMA's independence] at all, but I do think it’s important all our regulators understand their wider responsibilities for economic growth». 

It's easy to read an implication in that statement: With senior figures like PM Rishi Sunak and Hunt himself hyping up the post-Brexit UK as "the next Silicon Valley(opens in new tab)," the government would probably rather the nation's antitrust regulator not get in the habit of vexing the world's tech titans, especially when the European Union goes and approves the deals(opens in new tab) the CMA rejects, prompting key