The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, including its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The investigation was approved by FTC Chair Lina Khan before her likely departure in January. The election of Donald Trump as US president and the expectation that he will nominate a Republican for the position, with a softer approach towards companies, should leave the outcome of the investigation open.
The FTC is examining allegations that Microsoft is potentially abusing its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from moving their data from the Azure cloud service to other competitive platforms, sources confirmed earlier this month.
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Microsoft declined to comment on Wednesday.
The FTC received complaints about Microsoft last year as it scrutinized the cloud computing market.
NetChoice, a lobbying group representing online companies — including Amazon and Google, which compete with Microsoft in cloud computing — has criticized Microsoft’s licensing policies and the integration of AI tools into Office and Outlook.
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“Considering that Microsoft is the largest software company in the world, dominating in productivity software and operating systems, the scale and consequences of its licensing decisions are extraordinary,” the group said.
