Microsoft is being investigated by the FTC over antitrust concerns

Microsoft is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission successful a wide-ranging antitrust probe, making it the 5th Big Tech institution to autumn nether specified scrutiny successful respective years.

The agency is looking into Microsoft’s unreality and package licensing business, cybersecurity services, and AI offerings. Bloomberg first reported the news and The Verge confirmed the investigation pinch a personification acquainted pinch the matter, granted anonymity to speak to a confidential probe.

The request for accusation that spans hundreds of pages and culminates complete a twelvemonth of informal discussions pinch Microsoft competitors and partners. One attraction is connected really Microsoft bundles productivity and information package pinch its Azure cloud, per the source. The FTC’s liking successful Microsoft’s unreality business picked up successful the aftermath of several information incidents impacting its products, peculiarly because Microsoft is simply a apical supplier of package to US authorities agencies. The FTC and Microsoft some declined to comment.

The authorities Cyber Safety Review Board concluded earlier this year that “Microsoft’s information civilization was inadequate and requires an overhaul, peculiarly successful ray of the company’s centrality successful the exertion ecosystem.” Soon after, CEO Satya Nadella issued a memo to employees saying, “If you’re faced pinch the tradeoff betwixt information and different priority, your reply is clear: Do security.”

If the FTC brought a suit against the company, it would put Microsoft backmost into a acquainted position, if 1 from a bygone era. The institution faced an anti-monopoly suit from the Department of Justice successful the precocious ‘90s complete the bundling of its web browser and Windows operating system. But successful caller years Microsoft has mostly escaped the benignant of antitrust scrutiny applied to Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Google, each of which is fighting its ain monopoly charges from the government.

Still, a Democratic mostly connected the FTC is group to alteration soon erstwhile President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated successful January. He will apt take 1 of the agency’s existent 2 Republican commissioners to service arsenic acting chair, and will yet get to nominate a caller chair aliases commissioner to the agency who aligns pinch his viewpoints. It’s not retired of the mobility they’d proceed the probe, nevertheless — since Trump’s past DOJ and FTC respectively revenge antitrust suits against Google and Meta.