ALBAWABA - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a comprehensive antitrust investigation against Microsoft, looking at possible anti-competitive behavior across its wide-ranging commercial activities, multiple media outlets report.
Microsoft's cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity products are the primary focuses of the inquiry. The FTC filed a thorough request for information on Microsoft's business practices, namely how it bundles cloud services with Office and security products, according to NYT citing sources familiar with the investigation.
Additionally, the FTC is investigating Microsoft's growing involvement in AI, which has been reinforced by its investment in OpenAI and implementation of AI into products such as its Bing search engine and Copilot system.
Microsoft has previously been under antitrust inquiry. In response to its dominating operating system and attempts to hinder rivals, the U.S. government tried to dismantle the firm in the late 1990s. Although that attempt was eventually turned down, antitrust issues still loom over the tech giant.
The FTC’s latest probe comes shortly after Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft for $69 billion, a deal that was fraught with regulatory issues. Microsoft successfully concluded the transaction in October 2023, despite the FTC's concerns that it could dominate the video game publishing market.
The investigation comes just a few weeks before President Elect Donald Trump's return to the White House. Although Trump has not yet disclosed his intended candidate for the FTC leadership, the forthcoming administration may terminate any ongoing FTC investigations, according to CNN.
Trump’s reelection has prompted concerns about how his administration would approach Apple and Amazon antitrust allegations. With Google currently awaiting a federal judge's judgment on whether it may require it to sell its Chrome browser and bundle up Android after its search business was declared a monopoly.
