The U.S. FTC has sent an extensive questionnaire to Microsoft. The survey looks at bundling cloud, security and AI in Azure.
Is Microsoft facing an antitrust investigation? It looks like it, according to several U.S. news media. The Federal Trade Commission has filed a “formal request or information” with Microsoft. That is often the first step toward a more extensive investigation.
The subject of the investigation would be how Microsoft bundles cloud computing offerings with the Office suite and security products. Microsoft has been criticized several times for this in the European Union as well. The FTC is also keeping a close eye on Microsoft’s steep advance in the AI world, including its close collaboration with OpenAI. Competitors have faced questions about how Microsoft sells the Copilot software and how it resells OpenAI’s models to developers on its Azure cloud servers.
Personal reasons
The U.S. government has its personal reasons for looking at Microsoft with extra scrutiny. Several government departments are Microsoft customers. That Microsoft was the linchpin in a Chinese government spying campaign last year will not help the company in this investigation.
Microsoft received scathing reports. The company says it has learned its lesson and security is now Microsoft’s number one priority .
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Back in time
If it were to come to an investigation, Microsoft is not on trial. Back in the early 2000s, Microsoft was sued for monopoly around Windows and Internet Explorer. The lawsuit is considered the pioneer for antitrust cases until today. Since then, the U.S. government has left Microsoft alone, shifting attention to other tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Meta and most recently Google.
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The change of power in the White House also means new appointments within the relevant committees. But Microsoft seems unlikely to have to rely on grace from the new administration. The only bit of clarity in Trump’s appointments is that the hunt for Big Tech appears to be on.
This article originally appeared on Nov. 28. It has been updated with the latest information.