An investigation into Microsoft's potential antitrust practices has been underway for nearly three years, since Slack filed its initial complaint against the company and Teams .
The European Commission announced an investigation into whether Microsoft violated EU competition rules by including Teams in its product suites. In 2020, Slack filed its complaint based on antitrust law, alleging that Microsoft's decision to include Teams in Microsoft 365 (or Office 365) was illegal and that the company prevented some users from uninstalling the software.
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In April, Microsoft agreed to remove Teams from its Office suite as part of an effort to fend off the investigation, but it did not provide enough detail about how it would do so. That effort was not sufficient to address concerns and reach an agreement. In its notice of initiation of the investigation, the European Commission expressed concern that Microsoft might grant Teams a distribution advantage by preventing customers from choosing whether or not to include access to the product when they subscribe to its productivity suites.
In other words, the EU is concerned that Microsoft is not giving customers the option not to purchase Teams when they sign up for Microsoft 365. In doing so, Microsoft may be preventing other companiesthat provide similar services from reaching consumers.
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A Microsoft spokesperson responded to the news by saying: “We respect the European Commission’s work in this case and take our responsibility seriously. We will continue to work closely with the Commission and remain committed to finding solutions that address concerns its.”
This is not the first time Microsoft has faced investigations by the European Commission. In 2009, the company agreed to provide various browser options to EU users , rather than forcing them to use Internet Explorer on Windows
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The current antitrust investigation into Microsoft Teams is just the latest in a series of incidents that highlight the tension between tech giants and regulators around the world. While Microsoft says it is committed to finding solutions that address the European Commission’s concerns, the issue remains open for further discussion and investigation. The final outcome of this investigation could have significant implications, not just for Microsoft, but for the broader technology.
Source: www.engadget.com
