Microsoft faces an extensive US antitrust investigation

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched a comprehensive antitrust probe into Microsoft (MSFT.O), encompassing its cloud computing and software licensing businesses, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Prior to her anticipated departure in January, FTC Chair Lina Khan approved the investigation. The investigation’s conclusion is uncertain because Donald Trump was elected president of the United States and it is anticipated that he would name a fellow Republican who has a more lenient stance toward business.

According to sources earlier this month, the FTC is looking into claims that the software behemoth may be abusing its market dominance in productivity software by enforcing harsh license conditions to stop users from transferring their data from its Azure cloud service to rival platforms.

The source stated on Wednesday that the FTC is also investigating cybersecurity and AI product practices.

Microsoft on Wednesday declined to comment.

Microsoft’s business policies have drawn criticism from rivals who claim that they force users to use its cloud service, Azure. When the FTC looked into the cloud computing business last year, it received these kinds of concerns.
Microsoft’s licensing practices and the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) features into Office and Outlook were challenged by NetChoice, a lobbying group that represents online businesses that compete with Microsoft in the cloud computing space, such as Amazon and Google.

“Given that Microsoft is the world’s largest software company, dominating in productivity and operating systems software, the scale and consequences of its licensing decisions are extraordinary,” the group said.

In September, Google lodged a complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft’s practices, claiming that it provided customers with slower and more limited security patches and charged them 400% more to continue using Windows Server on competing cloud computing providers.

According to a media story earlier on Wednesday, the FTC has requested a wide range of specific information from Microsoft.

The government began investigating Microsoft’s $650 million transaction with AI company Inflection AI and had already asserted jurisdiction over investigations into Microsoft and OpenAI pertaining to artificial intelligence competition.

The recent battle by U.S. antitrust regulators against suspected anticompetitive behavior at Big Tech corporations has been somewhat of an exception for Microsoft.

According to the U.S., Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.O), Apple (AAPL.O), and Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O) have all been charged with illegally preserving monopolies.

Google (GOOGL.O) opens a new tab. In one of the two lawsuits Google is facing, a judge determined that the company had illegally prevented online search engines from competing with one another.

During his testimony in Google’s trial, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the search engine giant was locking up content required to train artificial intelligence through exclusive agreements with publishers.

Trump’s first government initiated multiple Big Tech investigations, so it’s uncertain if he will relax on the subject. The new vice president, JD Vance, has voiced concerns regarding the influence the corporations have over public opinion.