European Union opens antitrust investigation against Microsoft

European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top competition enforcer, said it would carry out its in-depth investigation “as a matter of priority”

Brussels: The European union announced on Thursday that it opened a formal antitrust investigation targeting Microsoft into the software company’s Teams messaging and videoconferencing app over concerns that it is bundling with its Office productivity software suites gives it an unfair edge over competitors.

The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top competition enforcer, said it would carry out its in-depth investigation “as a matter of priority.”

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The investigation stems from a complaint filed in 2020 by Slack Technologies, which makes popular workplace messaging software. Slack, owned by business software maker Salesforce, alleged that Microsoft was abusing its market dominance to eliminate competition — in violation of EU laws — by illegally combining Teams with its Office productivity software suite.

“Remote communication and collaboration tools like Teams have become indispensable for many businesses in Europe. We must therefore ensure that the markets for these products remain competitive,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust commissioner. “This is why we are investigating whether Microsoft’s tying of its productivity suites with Teams may be in breach of EU competition rules.”

Opening such an investigation in no way determines the outcome of the inquiry itself, the EU Commission said.