Tuesday, June 25th 2024
Microsoft Faces EU Scrutiny for Alleged Abusive Bundling of Teams
The European Commission has preliminarily concluded that Microsoft breached EU antitrust rules by tying its Teams communication product to Office 365 and Microsoft 365 productivity suites. The Commission considers Microsoft dominant in the global SaaS productivity applications market and is concerned that since at least April 2019, the company has been unfairly promoting Teams by bundling it with core productivity applications.
This practice allegedly restricts competition in the communication and collaboration products market, prevents customers from choosing whether to acquire Teams, and may limit interoperability with competitors' products. The Commission fears this could hinder innovation and harm customers in the European Economic Area, potentially violating Article 102 of the TFEU, which prohibits abuse of a dominant position.
Despite Microsoft's recent changes to Teams distribution, the Commission deems these insufficient to address its concerns. The investigation, initiated following complaints made last year by Slack Technologies and alfaview GmbH, has led to a Statement of Objections being issued. This allows Microsoft to examine relevant documents and respond to the allegations.
"We are concerned that Microsoft may be giving its own communication product Teams an undue advantage over competitors, by tying it to its popular productivity suites for businesses. And preserving competition for remote communication and collaboration tools is essential as it also fosters innovation on these markets. If confirmed, Microsoft's conduct would be illegal under our competition rules. Microsoft now has the opportunity to reply to our concerns." — Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy
If found in violation, Microsoft could face fines up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover and be required to implement remedies. The Commission notes that there is no legal deadline for completing the investigation, and its duration depends on various factors including case complexity and the company's cooperation. The Commission emphasizes that this preliminary view does not prejudge the investigation's final outcome.
Source:
European Commission
This practice allegedly restricts competition in the communication and collaboration products market, prevents customers from choosing whether to acquire Teams, and may limit interoperability with competitors' products. The Commission fears this could hinder innovation and harm customers in the European Economic Area, potentially violating Article 102 of the TFEU, which prohibits abuse of a dominant position.
"We are concerned that Microsoft may be giving its own communication product Teams an undue advantage over competitors, by tying it to its popular productivity suites for businesses. And preserving competition for remote communication and collaboration tools is essential as it also fosters innovation on these markets. If confirmed, Microsoft's conduct would be illegal under our competition rules. Microsoft now has the opportunity to reply to our concerns." — Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy
If found in violation, Microsoft could face fines up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover and be required to implement remedies. The Commission notes that there is no legal deadline for completing the investigation, and its duration depends on various factors including case complexity and the company's cooperation. The Commission emphasizes that this preliminary view does not prejudge the investigation's final outcome.
31 Comments on Microsoft Faces EU Scrutiny for Alleged Abusive Bundling of Teams
Amazing, every word of you just said...was wrong.
There are many wrong things going on within large corporations, no doubt about it, but the one mentioned here is not one of them. MS doesn't put a gun to your head and force you to use their software, the market is rich in alternatives, including free ones.
Microsoft have shifted to a services provider, something that Office365 cemented into place as the tipping point. Everything Microsoft does now is to funnel you to their online services and the concept of a Windows PC being something you have freedom and privacy to control and use as you want is very definitely starting to disintegrate.