The European Commission accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant market position by forcing its workplace messaging software Teams when customers buy Microsoft Office suite softwares, after the end of its preliminary investigation on the issue.
The Commission opened the investigation in July 2023, following a complaint by Teams’ competitor Slack Technologies. Videoconferencing software maker Alfaview later filed another complaint against Teams on similar grounds.
After the end of the preliminary phase of the investigation, the Commission informed Microsoft that the US company was indeed restricting the market and abusing its market position, by not giving customers an informed choice about Teams when they buy Microsoft Office. Also, Microsoft may have restricted competitors’ ability to work within its systems.
Microsoft tried to address the commission’s concerns by unbundling Teams from Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suite in the European Union and then by giving the option to customers all over the world. The Commission noted the changes but said that it was not enough and called on Microsoft to work towards restoring competition.
Commenting on Tuesday’s decision, Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a prepared statement that “we appreciate the additional clarity provided today and will work to find solutions to address the Commission’s remaining concerns.”
Meanwhile, Slack’s parent company Salesforce welcomed the decision. The company’s president and chief legal officer Sabastian Niles said that “we appreciate the Commission’s thorough investigation of Slack’s complaint and urge the Commission to move towards a swift, binding, and effective remedy that restores free and fair choice and promotes competition, interoperability, and innovation in the digital ecosystem.”
Microsoft now can answer back at the accusations in a so-called statement of objections, before final decisions by the European antitrust. The Commission may fine Microsoft up to 10% of its annual global revenue and may force changes to address the competition’s concerns.
