EU Antitrust Body to Investigate Microsoft Over Teams' Inclusion in Office Bundle

Microsoft has been on the European Commission's radar since 2020 when Slack complained about the tying of Teams with Office.

By Reuters | Updated: 27 July 2023 16:00 IST

EU Antitrust Body to Investigate Microsoft Over Teams' Inclusion in Office Bundle

Photo Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft has been fined EUR 2.2 billion in last decade for practices in breach of EU competition rules

Highlights

Microsoft might be defending its market position in productivity software
Microsoft said it would continue to co-operate with European Commission
Microsoft's offer of remedies failed to address the regulator's concerns

Microsoft on Thursday found itself the target of an EU antitrust investigation over the tying of its chat and video app Teams with its Office product, putting it at risk of a hefty fine.

The US tech giant has racked up EUR 2.2 billion (roughly Rs. 20,485 crore) in EU antitrust fines in the previous decade for practices in breach of EU competition rules, including tying or bundling two or more products together.

It has since then sought adopted a more conciliatory approach with the European Commission.

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The European Commission's investigation followed a complaint by Salesforce-owned workspace messaging app Slack in 2020 and after the US tech giant's offer of remedies failed to address the EU competition enforcer's concerns.

The EU competition enforcer said it was concerned that Microsoft may be abusing and defending its market position in productivity software by restricting competition in the European communication and collaboration products market.

"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, and companies are free to choose the products that best meet their needs," EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

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A spokesperson for Microsoft said Microsoft would continue to co-operate with the European Commission and that the company remained committed to finding solutions to address the Commission's concerns.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the EU antitrust watchdog was set to open a probe after Microsoft declined to offer bigger price cuts on its Office without Teams.

The European Commission hopes a price differential between Office with Teams and Office without the app will ensure a level playing field with rivals and give consumers more choice, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

German rival alfaview last week filed a complaint similar to Slack's with the EU executive.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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