Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the next American tech giant under the scrutiny of European competition law, after Apple was targeted yesterday.
The European Union alleged a breach of its antitrust rules, due to the “bundling” of its Teams messaging and videoconferencing app along with its established Office 365 and Microsoft 365 software packages.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, claims that bundling restricted competition by giving Teams an unfair advantage over rival messaging services like Slack and Alfaview.
It followed an investigation, that began last July, after complaints from Salesforce-owned Slack Technologies and Germany-headquartered Alfaview.
Microsoft opted to ‘unbundle’ Teams from its Office software in 2023, but, the European Commission found the move to be insufficient.
The Commission said its preliminary findings indicated that Microsoft might have given Teams a distribution advantage by not offering customers a choice on whether to include Teams with their software subscriptions.
Additionally, it cited limitations on interoperability between Microsoft’s services as exacerbating the issue.
Microsoft’s Vice-Chair and President, Brad Smith, has acknowledged the Commission’s concerns and stated that the company would work to address the additional issues raised.
If found guilty, Microsoft could face a large fine.
Yesterday, separately, the EU charged Apple with a breach of new European competition rules.
