EU plans to file antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over Teams bundling
Microsoft is facing the European Commission's (EC) criticism that
Brussels rolls out its newest weapon against Big Tech
https://www.ft.com/content/a3f0c372-a978-44a1-a0f0-948a00ad4eb3
Microsoft's video conferencing app, Teams, has long been sold bundled with Office, and after being pointed out by competitor Slack, the EC began an antitrust investigation into Microsoft in July 2023.
In response to this, Microsoft will stop selling Office and Teams together in the European Economic Area (EAA) and Switzerland in August 2023, and will expand the separation of Office and Teams worldwide in April 2024.
Microsoft cuts Office prices worldwide and stops Teams bundled sales - GIGAZINE
However, EC officials said they do not believe that the measures taken by Microsoft are sufficient to promote market fairness. It has been pointed out that Microsoft is using its own software to make Teams more compatible with competitors' products, and that it is making it more difficult for existing Teams users to switch to other software.
The possibility of the EC filing charges against Microsoft was reported in May 2024, but foreign media Financial Times reports that 'The EC will finally file charges against Microsoft in the week of June 24, 2024.'
EU plans to file new antitrust charges against Microsoft, citing concerns that Microsoft Teams could weaken competitors - GIGAZINE
Regarding this report, Microsoft stated its previous position that 'We will continue to engage with the EC, listen to market concerns, and continue to seek practical solutions that benefit both European customers and developers.' According to some sources, if the EC and Microsoft can hold talks and reach a settlement, Microsoft will be able to avoid paying a large fine.
It has also been reported that the EC plans to indict Apple on suspicion that its rule of charging app developers 50 cents (approximately 80 yen) per download if the app has more than 1 million users constitutes anti-competitive behavior. If Apple loses the case, it could be fined up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover. Apple has stated that it has not committed any wrongdoing in this case.
◆Added on June 26, 2024
The European Commission has issued a preliminary opinion to Microsoft stating that 'Microsoft's current practice of bundling Teams with Office 365 and Microsoft 365 violates antitrust laws.' The contents of the European Commission's announcement can be found in the following article.
European Commission issues antitrust opinion on Microsoft's 'Office and Teams bundled sales' - GIGAZINE
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