Microsoft has reportedly cleared a major regulatory hurdle as it tries to move toward finalizing its Activision Blizzard purchase. The companyโs licensing offers to competitors are expected to appease European Union (EU) antitrust concerns about the $69 billion acquisition, according to Reuters. The EU previously said it believed the deal could โsignificantly reduce competitionโ in PC, console and cloud gaming.
The EU isnโt expected to demand asset sales to approve the deal. However, the potential sale of Call of Duty has been a point of contention; Microsoft wants to hang onto the property while using the licensing agreements to quell regulators. The company has pledged to keep the franchise on competing platforms for at least 10 years if the purchase closes; itโs even bringing Call of Duty to Nintendoโs consoles.
Microsoft says itโs โcommitted to offering effectiveโฏ andโฏ easily โฏenforceable solutionsโฏ that address the European Commissionโs concerns.โ โOur commitment to grant long-term 100% equal access toโฏ Call of Duty to Sony, Steam,โฏ NVIDIA and othersโฏpreserves the dealโs benefits to gamers and developers and increases competition in the market,โ a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters.
The company announced the deal in January 2022 to help it compete against industry leaders Tencent and Sony while developing its take on the metaverse. โGaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,โ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the time.
Microsoft will still need to appease the US Federal Trade Commission and UK regulators before the deal can be finalized. The company only has until July to sort out the antitrust concerns, or it will need to renegotiate or abandon the purchase (which would mean paying a breakup fee of up to $3 billion).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-activision-blizzard-purchase-will-reportedly-be-approved-by-the-eu-174012371.html?src=rssMicrosoft - Activision Blizzard
ANKARA, TURKIYE - JANUARY 18: In this photo illustration, the logos of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are displayed in Ankara, Turkiye on January 18, 2022. (Photo by Hakan Nural/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The rumors were true, DJI is releasing a new Mini 2 SE drone that features a couple of upgrades over the companyโs existing entry-level drone. Most notably, DJI has equipped the Mini 2 SE with its in-house OcuSync 2.0 transmission system, meaning the drone can now effectively fly more than twice as far away as the original Mini SE. That modelโs โEnhanced WiFiโ system limited its range to up to 4km. The new system should also maintain a more stable video feed at greater distances. That said, the addition of OcuSync 2.0 might not be as valuable as the numbers suggest. Most jurisdictions require that you maintain a visual line of sight with your drone, and with a UAV as small as the Mini 2 SE, itโs very likely youโll lose sight of it long before you get a chance to fly it 10km away.
Additionally, DJI says the Mini 2 SE can fly for 31 minutes on a single battery charge, a modest upgrade from the previous modelโs maximum 30-minute flight time. Aside from those changes, the Mini 2 SE is nearly identical to the model itโs about to replace. Thatโs not necessarily a bad thing. Like its predecessor, the Mini 2 SE weighs less than 249 grams, meaning youโre not required to register it with the Federal Aviation Administration. The new drone also carries over the aging but decent camera system found on the Mini SE. It comes with a three-axis gimbal and a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor capable of capturing 2.7K video and 12-megapixel stills.
The DJI Mini 2 SE will cost $369 when it arrives next month. In addition to selling the drone on its own, DJI will offer the Mini 2 SE as part of a โFly More Comboโ bundle that comes with additional batteries, replacement propellers and a carrying case for $519.
DJI Mini SE 2
DJI's new Mini SE2 drone sitting on someone's palm.
Facebook parent company Meta has removed the Azov Regiment, a controversial unit within the Ukrainian National Guard with alleged far-right political leanings, from its list of dangerous individuals and organizations. The move, first reported by The Kyiv Independent, means members of the unit can now create Facebook and Instagram accounts and post without Meta automatically flagging and removing their content. Additionally, unaffiliated users can praise the Azov Regiment, provided they abide by the companyโs Community Standards.
โThe war in Ukraine has meant changing circumstances in many areas and it has become clear that the Azov Regiment does not meet our strict criteria for designation as a dangerous organization,โ a company spokesperson told The Kyiv Independent. Meta did not immediately respond to Engadgetโs comment request.
Sharing more information on the policy change, Meta told The Washington Post it recently began to view the Azov Regiment as a separate entity from other groups associated with the far-right nationalist Azov Movement. Specifically, the company pointed to Ukraine's National Corp political party and founder Andriy Biletsky, noting theyโre still on its list of dangerous individuals and organizations. โHate speech, hate symbols, calls for violence and any other content which violates our Community Standards are still banned, and we will remove this content if we find it,โ Meta said.
Important news from @Meta โ changes in platformโs policies. Azov regiment no longer meets designation as dangerous organization. Means a lot for every Ukrainian. New approach enters the force gradually. Big contribution @nickclegg & his team in sharing truthful content about war.
โ Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) January 19, 2023
The Azov Regiment was founded in 2014 by Biletsky following Russiaโs annexation of Crimea and the start of the Donbas War that same year. Before the unit was integrated into Ukraineโs National Guard in November 2014, it was controversial for its adherence to neo-Nazi ideology. In 2015, a spokesperson for the Azov Regiment said 10 to 20 percent of the unitโs recruits were self-professed Nazis. At the start of the 2022 conflict, Ukrainian officials said the Azov Regiment still had some extremists among its ranks but claimed the unit had largely become depoliticized. During the months-long siege of Mariupol, the Azov Regiment played a prominent role in the cityโs defense. Russia captured many of the battalionโs fighters at the end of the battle.
The change underscores just how much Metaโs content moderation policies have changed since the start of Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine. Partway through last year, the company began temporarily allowing people in Ukraine and a handful of other countries to call for violence against Russian soldiers. After the decision created controversy, Meta said it would turn to the Oversight Board for policy guidance, a request the company later withdrew, citing โongoing safety and security concernsโ related to the war.
UKRAINE-CRISIS/FUNERAL
Members of the Ukrainian National Guard attend a funeral ceremony for their brother-in-arm Vasyl Sushchuk, the Azov regiment serviceman, who was killed in a fight against Russian troops in Mariupol city, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Lviv, Ukraine July 29, 2022. REUTERS/Pavlo Palamarchuk