Microsoft’s well-known office productivity, security products and cloud capabilities are the investigation’s core focus.
The US Federal Trade Commission has launched an antitrust investigation against Microsoft Corporation, including the company’s cloud computing, software licensing operations, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence products.
Antitrust authorities have developed a detailed request compelling it to provide information after more than a year of conducting informal interviews with its rivals and business associates. FTC Chair Lina Khan approved the hundreds-page demand forwarded to the company.
FTC antitrust lawyers will meet its competitors next week to learn about their business practices, but FTC and Microsoft chose not to comment.
The FTC increased its investigation into the cloud computing sector after many cybersecurity events that involved its products.
The company is a top government contractor, offering billions of dollars in software and cloud services to US agencies, including the Defence Department.
Khan is leaving after leading one of the most aggressive campaigns against concentrated corporate power the agency has produced in decades, and the Microsoft information demand is one of her final statements.
Business executives expected President-elect Donald Trump to bring an era of less regulation, but the decision on the case lies with the incoming FTC chair, who has not yet been named.
The FTC investigation reexamines Microsoft’s business practices more than 25 years after the government sued Microsoft for similar conduct involving bundling its Windows operating system and browser and failing to break into it.
Microsoft’s well-known office productivity, security products and cloud capabilities are this investigation’s core focus.
FTC views Microsoft’s cyber security failings and its size as a federal contractor as the company’s dangerous market dominance.
In a November 2023 study, FTC claimed that since the cloud industry is so concentrated, outages or other problems that impair a cloud provider service could affect the economy or any industry.
The CrowdStrike crash, which affected millions of devices running on the Microsoft Windows system, demonstrates the widespread use of the company’s technologies and their direct impact on the global economy.
They are also investigating the company’s security software, Microsoft Entra ID (previously known as Azure Active Directory), which helps with user authentication when logging into cloud-based products.
Competitors have complained that Microsoft licensing terms and software bundles with cloud services make it difficult for rival cybersecurity and authentication companies to compete.
NetChoice, a lobbying group representing online companies like Amazon and Google that compete with Microsoft in the cloud computing space, criticized Microsoft licensing practices and its integration of artificial intelligence (AI) features into its products Office and Outlook.
The group claimed that the scale and consequences of its licensing decisions are unusual as it is the biggest software company in the world and dominates the market for operating systems and office software.
Companies like Salesforce Inc.’s Slack and Zoom Communications Inc. have criticized Microsoft’s practice of giving away its Team video-conferencing software for free in a bundle with well-known software products like Word and Excel, making it more difficult for them to compete.
In September, Google filed a complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft’s practices, claiming that it made customers pay 400% more to continue using Windows Server on competing cloud computing operators and provided them with slower and more limited security updates.
The United States has accused Amazon and Meta, owner of Facebook, of illegally maintaining monopolies.
Alphabet’s Google is facing two lawsuits, including the judge confirming that the company had illegally blocked internet search engine competition.
During his testimony in Google’s trial, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the search engine company was using exclusive agreements with publishers to lock up content used to train artificial intelligence.
When Trump takes office in the White office, it is unclear whether he will ease up on Big Tech, as during his first administration, he launched many investigations. The new vice president, JD Vance, has expressed concerns regarding the influence these big companies have over public opinion.
