Microsoft faces a wide-ranging U.S. antitrust probe.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has initiated a comprehensive antitrust investigation into Microsoft, focusing on its software licensing and cloud computing operations, according to a source familiar with the situation reported on Wednesday. This investigation received approval from FTC Chair Lina Khan prior to her anticipated departure in January.
The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, along with the expectation that he will appoint a Republican with a more lenient stance towards business, casts uncertainty on the investigation's outcome.
The FTC is scrutinizing claims that the software giant may be misusing its market dominance in productivity software by enforcing restrictive licensing terms that hinder customers from transferring their data from its Azure cloud service to competing platforms, as confirmed by sources earlier this month. Additionally, the FTC is investigating practices related to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence products, as stated by the source on Wednesday.
Microsoft chose not to provide a comment on the matter on Wednesday. Last year, the FTC received complaints regarding Microsoft while assessing the cloud computing sector. NetChoice, a lobbying organization representing online firms such as Amazon and Google, which compete with Microsoft in the cloud space, has criticized Microsoft's licensing practices and its incorporation of AI tools into its Office and Outlook products.
“Considering that Microsoft is the largest software company globally, with a dominant position in productivity and operating systems software, the scale and implications of its licensing choices are significant,” the group remarked. The FTC has requested a wide array of detailed information from Microsoft. Until now, Microsoft has largely been an exception in the recent efforts by U.S. antitrust regulators to address alleged anticompetitive behaviors among major technology firms.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, along with Apple and Amazon.com Inc., have all faced accusations from the U.S. government of unlawfully sustaining monopolies. Alphabet’s Google is currently dealing with two lawsuits, one of which resulted in a judicial finding of unlawful conduct. The FTC’s investigation into Microsoft marks a pivotal moment in U.S. antitrust enforcement, highlighting growing concerns about competition in cloud computing, AI, and software markets. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies across the tech industry, the outcome of this probe could reshape Microsoft’s business practices and set a precedent for addressing monopolistic behavior in emerging technologies.
