Microsoft is investigated by EU regulatory authorities on suspicion that ``combined sales of Office and Teams violate antitrust law''
Until now, Microsoft has been doing combined sales to automatically install the business messaging tool '
Commission opens investigation of practices by Microsoft
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3991
We have opened a formal investigation to assess whether Microsoft may have breached EU competition rules by tying or bundling its communication and collaboration product Teams to its popular suites for businesses Office 365 and Microsoft 365 ↓
—European Commission (@EU_Commission) July 27, 2023
EU opens antitrust probe into Microsoft bundling of Teams app
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/27/eu-opens-antitrust-probe-into-microsoft-bundling-of-teams-app.html
Microsoft Teams + Office bundle leads to official EU antitrust probe | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/07/microsoft-teams-office-bundle-leads-to-official-eu-antitrust-probe/
The European Commission said, ``The integration of Teams into Office 365 and Microsoft 365, established cloud-based services for business customers, will limit competition for communication and collaboration products in the European Economic Area (EEA). We are concerned that Microsoft may be fraudulently increasing its position in the business software market.'
Margrethe Westager, European Commissioner for Competition, said: 'Remote communication and collaboration tools like Teams have become an integral part of many European companies. Therefore, the market for these products is competitive. It is necessary to create a market in which companies can freely select products that meet their needs while maintaining their This is why we are conducting an investigation to see if there is a possibility that
The European Commission's investigation of Microsoft began in 2020 with a complaint from Slack, which provides a business messaging tool that competes with Teams. Slack said at the time, ``We asked the EU to act as a neutral referee to verify the facts of antitrust violations and enforce the law.'' He also claimed that ``Microsoft seems to be forcing companies that have introduced Office to install Teams and block its removal.''
On the other hand, it has been reported that Microsoft may abolish combined sales of Office and Teams in April 2023, and at that time, the Financial Times, a British economic newspaper, said, ``This is the first move by Microsoft in about 10 years. 'This is part of a corporate effort to avoid further antitrust investigations and to avoid a legal battle with the European Commission , which has had its roots in the past.'
The possibility that Microsoft will abolish the combined sales of Office and Teams, because the EU tried to investigate antitrust violations due to complaints from Slack - GIGAZINE
Microsoft could be fined up to 10% of its annual global turnover if it finds that the cross-selling of Office and Teams violates antitrust laws after an investigation by the European Commission. there is.
A Microsoft spokesperson said, ``We respect the European Commission's work on this matter and take our responsibilities very seriously. will work with the European Commission.'
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