Brussels accused Microsoft of illegally abusing its dominance in the business software market at the expense of smaller rivals, following a complaint filed at the height of the pandemic by American competitor Slack.
The European Commission saying on Tuesday found that Microsoft was restricting competition by selling its Teams video conferencing software alongside the company’s other popular office tools, such as Office 365 and Microsoft 365, since at least 2019.
“We are concerned that Microsoft may be giving its own Teams communication product an undue advantage over its competitors by tying it to its popular business productivity suites,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “If confirmed, Microsoft’s conduct would be unlawful under our competition rules.” The charges announced Tuesday are just a “preliminary view,” meaning the commission has sent a “statement of objections” to Microsoft and the company has 10 weeks once it receives all the details to respond.
The charges against Microsoft come the same week that the European Commission also accused Apple of violating the European Union’s new digital markets law by not allowing app developers to communicate freely with their users. Over the last decade, the EU has become the de facto regulator of Big Tech, forcing US giants to change the way they operate and impose billions of dollars in fines.
In an attempt to appease Brussels, Microsoft began excluding Teams from some Office packages in July last year. However, the commission today said those changes were insufficient and expressed concern about how easy it was to use rival conferencing software alongside other Microsoft tools, a practice known as interoperability.
“After separating Teams and taking initial interoperability steps, we appreciate the additional clarity provided today,” said Brad Smith, vice president and president of Microsoft, in a statement shared with WIRED. The company plans to work to find solutions that address the commission’s remaining concerns, he added.
If Microsoft and the EU cannot reach an agreement, the Commission has the power to impose fines of up to 10 percent of the company’s annual worldwide turnover and can impose remedies.
The commission opened its investigation into Microsoft Teams following a complaint from Slack in July 2020, when there was fierce competition for remote workers who relied on office software due to pandemic shutdowns. “This is much bigger than Slack versus Microsoft,” said Jonathan Prince, then vice president of communications and policy at Slack. saying At the time. “This represents two very different philosophies for the future of digital ecosystems: gateways versus gatekeepers.”
On Tuesday, Sabastian Niles, president and chief legal officer of Salesforce, Slack’s parent company, described the European Commission’s position as “a victory for customer choice and an affirmation that Microsoft’s practices with Teams have harmed competition.” “.
German video conferencing company Alfaview, which filed a complaint with the commission following Slack, also welcomed the decision. The steps Microsoft has taken so far to separate Teams have been ineffective, said Niko Fostiropoulos, CEO and founder of Alfaview. saying in a sentence. “Microsoft is offering existing enterprise customers who opt out of Teams in the general package only a minimum discount of 2 euros ($2.10),” she said. “This does not provide sufficient incentives to switch to another video conferencing service.”
