The US Federal Trade Commission has opened an antitrust investigation Microsoft Corp., delves into everything from the company’s software licensing and cloud computing businesses to cybersecurity services and artificial intelligence products.
After more than a year of informal interviews with competitors and business partners, antitrust enforcers issued a detailed request, according to people familiar with the matter. details to force Microsoft to provide information. The hundreds-of-page request was sent to the company after FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan signed it off, one person said.
FTC antitrust lawyers will meet with Microsoft competitors next week to gather more information about the Redmond, Washington-based company’s business practices, according to two other people familiar with the matters. plans and requested anonymity to discuss a confidential matter.
Microsoft and the FTC declined to comment.
The FTC’s oversight of Microsoft’s cloud computing business has been effective following a series of cybersecurity incidents involving the company’s products. The company is a leading government contractor, providing billions of dollars in software and cloud services to U.S. agencies, including the Department of Defense.
Microsoft’s demand for information was one of Khan’s farewell remarks when she resigned after leading one of the most aggressive efforts against consolidated corporate power the agency had undertaken in decades. century. While business leaders are hoping that President-elect Donald Trump will usher in an era of lighter regulation, his new FTC chairman — as yet unnamed — will decide how to proceed incident.
The FTC investigation continues Microsoft’s scrutiny of its business practices more than 25 years after the government sued the company for similar conduct related to packaging its Windows operating system and browser but trying to break it. breaking it failed.
A key focus of the current investigation is Microsoft’s bundling of both its popular office productivity and security software with cloud services, according to people familiar with the information request.
Microsoft’s cybersecurity failures, combined with its strength as a government contractor, are considered by the FTC to be an example of the company’s problematic power over markets, which This said.
In its November 2023 report, the FTC highlighted concerns that the concentrated nature of the cloud market means “outages or other problems impair cloud provider services, could have a widespread impact on the economy or specific sectors.”
The CrowdStrike incident that affected millions of devices running on Microsoft Windows systems earlier this year is itself a testament to the widespread use of the company’s products, and it directly affects the global economy. how.
Part of the investigation focuses on the company’s practices related to security software called Microsoft Entra ID — formerly known as Azure Active Directory — that helps authenticate users logging into cloud-based software.
Competitors have complained that Microsoft’s licensing terms and bundling of software with cloud services make it harder for rival cybersecurity and authentication companies to compete.
Companies like Sales force Inc.’s Slack and Launch Communications Inc. has said that Microsoft giving away its Teams video conferencing software for free with popular software products like Word and Excel is anti-competitive and makes it harder for them to compete.
