- Microsoft threatened with antitrust investigation into cloud, AI and security practices
- Latest in series of US and EU probes for the company in 2024
- FTC set for new leadership, potentially Microsoft’s ‘get out of jail’ card
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly launched a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, challenging the company’s business practices across cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity markets.
First reported by Bloomberg, the proposed investigation would focus on allegations of market dominance and other potentially anticompetitive practices.
The company has already faced criticism over bundling software within Azure services, imposing technical limitations and offering preferential pricing, all of which locks customers into the company’s ecosystem.
FTC threatens Microsoft with far-reaching investigation
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has had to fight off antitrust regulators – in the European Union, Google recently called for stricter oversight of Microsoft’s licensing terms.
The company also reached a settlement with the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe group (CISPE) earlier this year; at that point, CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance said this would mark the end of that battle.
In the cybersecurity space, Microsoft has faced criticism over the integration of its Defender antivirus within the Windows operating system, making it more difficult for other antivirus software providers to sell their own solutions and raising monopoly concerns.
A third branch of the reported FTC investigation, focusing on artificial intelligence, explores Microsoft’s deep integration with OpenAI. The company notoriously invested billions into the startup not long after ChatGPT went public, and its large language models have been used across various Microsoft applications over the years that followed.
Microsoft isn’t the only company facing increased pressure from the FTC – the Commission has been cracking down on many rival firms, including Amazon, Google and Meta, too.
However, all of this could be about to change with the upcoming departure of FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has been known for her aggressive stance toward Big Tech. In contrast, the Trump administration promises a more business-friendly approach.
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