WORLD
FTC starts major probe into Microsoft’s software licensing and other practices
- IBJ Bureau
- Nov 29, 2024
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, including of its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source familiar with the matter has said.
The probe was approved by FTC Chair Lina Khan ahead of her likely departure in January. The election of Donald Trump as US president and the expectation that he will appoint a fellow Republican with a softer approach towards business leave the outcome of the investigation up in the air.
The FTC is examining allegations that the software giant is potentially abusing its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from moving their data from its Azure cloud service to other competitive platforms.
The FTC is also looking at practices related to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) products.
Microsoft has declined to comment on the matter.
Competitors have criticised Microsoft’s practices that keep customers locked into its cloud offering, Azure. The FTC had fielded such complaints last year as it examined the cloud computing market.
NetChoice, a lobbying group that represents online companies including Amazon and Google, which compete with Microsoft in cloud computing, has criticised Microsoft’s licensing policies and its integration of AI tools into its Office and Outlook.
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