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US judge temporarily halts Activision Blizzard buyout to Microsoft

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In an attempt to prevent competitors from going out of the competition, US regulators were granted approval for a request to stop the buyout of Activision Blizzard to technology colossus Microsoft for $69 billion.

According to the court, the temporary restraining order “is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending.”

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said the deal could “substantially lessen competition in the sector”.

The hearing of the case is set to take place from June 22 to 24 in San Francisco.

If the deal with Activision Blizzard — a company behind Call of Duty and Candy Crush — is successful, it would be the biggest deal ever in the history of the video gaming industry.

According to BBC, it has split competition regulators in the UK, the US and Europe.

The UK restrained the buyout while the European Union (EU) approved it. For the successful conclusion of the deal, Microsoft and Activision require permission from the US, the UK and EU regulators.

The deal would give Microsoft’s Xbox console exclusive access to Activision games, leaving competitors Nintendo and Sony out in the cold, argued the FTC.

A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California, US. — Reuters/File
A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California, US. — Reuters/File

The companies have a time limit of June 16 to submit their arguments to oppose the preliminary injunction and the FTC will have to reply on 20 June.

Microsoft said a takeover of Activision would benefit gaming companies and players.

It has offered to sign a legally binding agreement with the FTC to provide Call of Duty games to rivals including Sony for a decade.

The European Commission approved the acquisition and said that Microsoft’s offer of 10-year free licensing deals — which promise European consumers and cloud game streaming services access to Activision’s PC and console games — means there would be fair competition in the market.

But the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal in April. It maintained that it was concerned the takeover would offer reduced innovation and less choice for gamers.

The companies criticized CMA’s decision and said they would file an appeal.

Brad Smith, Microsoft president said it marked the company’s “darkest day” in its four decades of working in Britain.

In response to the announcement by the FTC Monday, Smith noted that Microsoft welcomed the “opportunity to present our case in federal court” in its attempt to persuade US regulators to allow the deal to be completed.

“We believe accelerating the legal process in the US will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market,” he added.

The buyout of Activision is regarded as crucial for Microsoft, which is trying to catch up with its main competitor Sony.

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Cybersecurity firm reports exposure of sensitive DeepSeek data on the internet.

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The New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz has discovered a cache of sensitive data from the Chinese artificial intelligence business DeepSeek that was mistakenly exposed to the public internet.

In a blog post released on Wednesday, Wiz reported that examinations of DeepSeek’s infrastructure revealed that the company had inadvertently exposed over a million lines of unencrypted data. The materials were digital software keys and chat logs that seemingly documented prompts transmitted from consumers to the company’s complimentary AI assistant.

The chief technical officer of Wiz stated that DeepSeek promptly safeguarded the data following the notice from his organisation.

“It was removed in under an hour,” stated Ami Luttwak. “However, this was exceedingly easy to locate, leading us to believe we are not the sole discoverers.”

DeepSeek did not promptly respond to a request for comment.

DeepSeek’s rapid success after the introduction of its AI helper has exhilarated China and incited concern in America. The Chinese company’s evident capacity to rival OpenAI’s skills at a significantly reduced cost has raised concerns regarding the viability of the business models and profit margins of U.S. AI behemoths like Nvidia and Microsoft.

By Monday, it surpassed the U.S. competitor ChatGPT in downloads from Apple’s App Store, prompting a worldwide decline in technology stocks.

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WhatsApp launches bulk channel management functionality

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WhatsApp has initiated testing of a bulk channel administration feature on iOS for select beta users, enabling the simultaneous selection of many channels, hence enhancing the efficiency of managing following channels.

This essential update enables users to perform bulk activities, including muting many channels simultaneously, designating them as read, and altering notifications. If the chosen channels are muted, users will now have the option to activate notifications. Users can swiftly silence unmuted channels in one action.

Additionally, this feature enables users to unfollow many channels simultaneously, thereby optimizing the process of decluttering their channel list. This change is particularly beneficial for users that oversee numerous subscriptions, as reported by WABetaInfo.

Previously, users were required to manage each channel individually, rendering tasks such as muting or designating channels as read laborious and time-consuming.

The functionality provides enhanced flexibility and control over channel subscriptions, enabling users to efficiently manage notifications. The solution streamlines laborious operations for consumers who subscribe to numerous channels, hence enhancing their entire experience.

Accessibility
The bulk management feature is presently accessible exclusively to a limited number of beta testers who installed the latest WhatsApp beta for iOS using the TestFlight application. WhatsApp, owned by Meta, plans to expand the feature’s availability to a larger user base in the next weeks.

This update demonstrates WhatsApp’s dedication to enhancing user experience by offering a clear and efficient method for managing channels and notifications.

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Pakistani internet slowdown: ongoing submarine cable issue

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Even after two weeks, the global submarine cable AAA-1 problem that was discovered on January 2 near Qatar has not been fixed, causing sluggish internet connection in several Pakistani towns.

According to a representative for Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the issue has affected customers’ capacity to effectively access social media applications and browse the online. Even with initiatives to fix the problem, social networking sites still lag during busy times.

Internet traffic has been redirected via alternate channels to lessen the impact, and more capacity has been set up to stabilize the service.

The PTCL representative promised that “Internet service across the country is operating normally, and there will be no issues with web browsing,” noting that social media applications’ lag is common during

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