EU Antitrust Probe Targets Microsoft's Teams-Office Bundle

Microsoft was the subject of an EU antitrust probe on Thursday due to the integration of its Teams chat and video software with its Office product, putting it in danger of a large punishment.

For actions that violated European Commission competition laws, such as linking or bundling two or more items together, the US tech giant raked up EUR 2.2 billion (approximately Rs 20,485 crore) in EU antitrust probe fines over the preceding ten years.

Since then, it has attempted to adopt a more accommodative stance with the European Commission.

The European Commission opened an inquiry after Salesforce-owned workplace messaging software Slack filed a complaint in 2020, and after the US tech giant's offer of remedies failed to answer the EU competition enforcer's worries.

The EU competition enforcer expressed worry that Microsoft may be abusing and maintaining its market position in productivity software by limiting competition in the European market for communication and collaboration goods.

"Remote communication and collaboration tools such as Teams have become indispensable for many European businesses." "As a result, we must ensure that markets for these products remain competitive and that companies are free to choose the products that best meet their needs," said EU antitrust head Margrethe Vestager in a statement.

A Microsoft spokeswoman stated that the business will continue to work with the European Commission and was dedicated to finding answers to the Commission's concerns.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the EU antitrust agency was planning to launch an investigation after Microsoft refused to give a larger price reduction on Office without Teams.

According to those familiar with the situation, the European Commission expects that a pricing difference between Office with Teams and Office without the app will provide a fair playing field with competitors and give customers more options.