A year-long antitrust probe from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is set against Microsoft’s software licensing practices relating to cloud computing. As per a source familiar with the matter, authorized by Chair Lina Khan of FTC ahead of her expected departure from that organization come January, the investigation specifically concentrates on Microsoft’s market practices concerning productivity software. End.
The investigation will also look at issues connected with Microsoft’s AI products and cybersecurity practices. Microsoft dominates the cloud market, most notably through its Azure cloud platform, though competitors such as Amazon and Google have complained to regulators that Microsoft’s licensing policies are designed to lock customers into its services. The integration of AI tools into Microsoft’s Office and Outlook software has also put the company under scrutiny.
NetChoice, a lobbying group representing companies including Amazon and Google, has criticized Microsoft’s practices as anticompetitive and harmful to the cloud computing market. Many of those complaints mirror concerns raised last year when the FTC was reviewing the cloud market.
The FTC’s inquiry comes amid increased scrutiny of Big Tech, with companies such as Facebook, now known as Meta, Apple, and Amazon facing their own antitrust challenges. However, Microsoft’s practices have largely been spared from such scrutiny in the past. With the change in administration looming in the U.S., the future of the investigation is uncertain, especially with Donald Trump expected to take a lighter hand on business regulation.
The result of the investigation may reshape the competitive dynamics in the markets for cloud computing and productivity software, at a time when Microsoft is under heightened scrutiny from regulators around the world.
