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| Welcome to today's Inside Tech newsletter! Here are the latest headlines for today: - Microsoft and Activision Blizzard agree to extend $69B deal deadline.
- Twitter is reintroducing its long-form content feature.
- TikTok is testing its music streaming service in more countries.
- Microsoft will charge businesses to access its Office AI assistant.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Microsoft and Activision Blizzard have extended their merger agreement to October 18 as they negotiate with U.K. antitrust regulators. The companies had originally planned to close the deal by Tuesday, June 18. If the $69B acquisition had fallen through, Microsoft would have had to pay a breakup fee of $3B. More: - On Tuesday, the companies struck a new deal that bumps up the termination fee to $3.5B if the acquisition is not closed by August 29 and $4.5B if not finalized by September 15.
- The UK's antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, initially blocked the merger in April but is now reviewing Microsoft's new proposal that aims to address cloud gaming concerns.
- The CMA said it will issue a final order by August 29.
- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also sought to block the merger but was denied in court.
Zoom out: - Should Microsoft overcome the remaining hurdle and complete the deal, it would become the biggest video game acquisition ever, providing a significant boost to its gaming business driven by Xbox.
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| 2 | | What happened: Company mergers involving tech giants would face heightened scrutiny under new draft guidelines released by U.S. antitrust watchdogs on Wednesday. Details: The Department of Justice and the FTC proposed 13 guidelines to overhaul the rules governing mergers and acquisitions. The rules cover a variety of deals, including horizontal and vertical mergers, as well as those involving online platforms. They aim to stop companies from getting too big and foster competition, particularly in industries like tech. According to the agencies, if following an acquisition a company's market share exceeds 30%, enforcers might assume that the deal would harm competition. Why it matters: President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2021 urging an update to the rules that determine if deals violate competition laws. The administration's aggressive antitrust approach aims to promote competition and curb the power of tech giants like Google, Meta, Apple, and Amazon. While U.S. antitrust enforcers have successfully blocked some major deals, they have faced tough losses, including a recent court ruling in favor of Microsoft's $69B deal to buy Activision Blizzard. Still, tech sector deal volumes have declined by over 50% this year, based on LSEG Deals Intelligence data. What's next: The new guidelines will be open for public comment for 60 days before they become final. While the guidelines themselves don't have the force of law, they would influence how courts view merger challenges. 
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| 3 | | Twitter is reintroducing its long-form content feature, now called "Articles," according to Elon Musk. It's unclear if or when Articles will be available to the public, as it is still in the experimental stage and limited to select users. More: - The feature allows users to publish long and detailed articles with added media, such as photos and videos.
- The project was initially launched as "Notes" in 2022 but had been on hold since Musk acquired Twitter.
- However, recent screenshots shared by a user revealed the return of the feature, which allows users to publish blog-like posts separate from the main timeline.
- Published Articles will show up in the poster's Twitter profile. Users can also share Articles in tweets.
- According to Musk, "You could publish a book if you want."
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| 4 | | TikTok is expanding its closed beta test for its music streaming service to Australia, Mexico, and Singapore. TikTok Music syncs with a user's TikTok account to discover, share, and download music from major record companies. More: - The music streaming app, which can be downloaded separately from the main TikTok app, offers features like personalized recommendations, real-time lyrics, collaborative playlists, and a lyrics search function.
- Users can listen to viral TikTok songs, import their music libraries, and download songs for offline listening.
- The expansion follows the recent launch of TikTok Music in Indonesia and Brazil.
- While there is no information on the U.S. launch, TikTok plans to share updates soon.
Zoom out: - The service aims to combine music discovery on TikTok with a music streaming experience, competing directly with platforms like Spotify and Apple Music
- It highlights TikTok's growing efforts in the music industry, with the company just announcing an expanded licensing agreement with Warner Music Group.
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| 5 | | Google has launched a pilot program to curb cyberattack risks by turning off internet access for a small group of employees, according to CNBC. Initially, the company chose 2,500 employees for the pilot, but the program has been updated to allow workers to opt out or volunteer. More: - Participants will have their internet access limited to internal web-based tools and Google Drive and Gmail.
- Certain employees will have restricted root access, which prevents them from installing software or executing administrative commands on their personal computers.
- Exceptions are being made for employees who require internet for work, according to internal documents.
- Google currently employs around 178,000 people globally, after cutting 12,000 jobs earlier this year.
Zoom out: - According to Google, its employees are frequently targeted by hackers.
- Disabling most internet access prevents attackers from remotely running code or accessing data easily.
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| 6 | | Microsoft will charge businesses to access its new AI assistant in its Office software. The assistant, called Copilot, generates text, charts, and other content in Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and more. More: - The pricing represents a 53% to 83% increase in the average monthly cost for business-grade versions of Microsoft 365, previously known as Office 365.
- The cloud-based productivity software is used by hundreds of millions of workers worldwide.
- Microsoft plans to charge Office 365 business accounts $30 per user per month to add the AI assistant features.
- CEO Satya Nadella defended the pricing, highlighting the value of AI in automating routine work and boosting productivity.
- Around 600 enterprise customers, including General Motors and Goodyear, have been testing Copilot, suggesting an imminent release.
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- Netflix has axed its "Basic" ad-free plan in the U.S. and the U.K., discontinuing the $9.99-a-month option for new or returning members.
- Activision Blizzard has cut the jobs of 50 employees in its esports division as it faces potential significant changes in its Overwatch League.
- A Canadian work permit program to attract U.S. tech workers has closed for applications after reaching its max number of applicants in only a day.
- Nvidia is close to finalizing a deal to acquire an equity stake in Lambda Labs, a deep-learning cloud provider.
- Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has cut employee benefits, including mobile-phone reimbursement, fitness reimbursement, and work-from-home expenses, due to a fall in profits.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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