You could assume that Microsoft’s PR department is working extra hard after the company raged in legalese at the Federal Trade Commission when you read a very gentle statement shared in a Washington Post ad, which appears to both prop up recent union formations and try to continue to lower the temperature between Microsoft and the FTC.
The ad first opens by saying Microsoft is “committed to creating the best workplaces [it] can for people who make a living in the tech sector” by referencing its neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America, acknowledging the recently formed ZeniMax QA union, and stating its hope to “bring the same agreement and principles to Activision-Blizzard, which Microsoft has proposed to acquire.”
The ad then references the antitrust lawsuit filed by the FTC, reading in part that “[the company isn’t] asking the FTC to ignore competition concerns. On the contrary, we believe it’s important to explore solutions that protect competition and consumers. […] We believe this is the spirit that led Congress to establish the FTC in 1914. It’s a spirit worth keeping alive today.”
Readers will note this continues Microsoft’s earlier walking back of its fiery rhetoric in the face of the suit, which included a re-filing of its response that culled constitutionality complaints earlier this week. For those who want to read the ad in full, feel free to click this link for a screenshot.
