Negotiations between Microsoft and the European Union (EU) watchdog have reportedly been unsuccessful, raising the possibility of a full-blown antitrust investigation into the company. Anonymous sources familiar with the matter suggest that an end to the three-year-old case may be in sight, with official action becoming increasingly likely.
The case originates from a complaint filed by Slack in 2020, alleging that Microsoft’s bundling of Teams with its office software gave it an unfair advantage over competitors. Microsoft has included its video conferencing app, Teams, in Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) subscriptions since its launch in 2017.
Microsoft reportedly proposed offering a discount for Office versions without the Teams app, but this suggestion was deemed insufficient by the EU. If an investigation proceeds, it remains uncertain how other companies, such as Google with its bundling of services like Google Meet, will be impacted. However, the potential introduction of pricing for access to the Teams app could level the playing field for video conferencing providers beyond Slack.
In the event that Microsoft is found to have violated EU antitrust rules, it could face fines of up to 10% of its global turnover. Over the past decade, Microsoft has already paid an estimated $2.4 billion in fines to settle previous EU antitrust and anticompetitive cases. Earlier this year, the company settled another case involving multiple cloud providers, although the settlement value has not been disclosed.
Both Microsoft and the EU have refrained from providing detailed comments due to the ongoing nature of the case. Microsoft has previously stated its willingness to cooperate with the Commission and explore pragmatic solutions that address concerns while serving customers effectively.
