EU intends to resolve antitrust dispute concerning Microsoft Teams
Here's the rewritten version:
Tech titan Microsoft is inching closer to settling a heated antitrust battle with the European Commission, as the software colossus, under pressure, has rolled out new concessions for its Teams and Office products.
The controversy surrounding Microsoft Teams, which kicked off with a 2020 complaint from Slack (now under the Salesforce umbrella), accuses Microsoft of leveraging its market dominance by tying its video conferencing tool Teams to its popular Office 365 suite.
Though Microsoft had previously stripped Teams away from Office 365 within the EU, critics argued that the changes lacked substance. Now, this tech titan has vowed additional concessions, such as sustaining the Teams-Office separation for an impressive seven years in the EU.
Embracing transparency, the competition watchdog announced on Friday that it would initiate a market test to gauge if Microsoft's latest offerings would suffice to appease the antitrust concerns. Market tests are often seen as a prelude to settlements.
The move comes at a time when relations between the EU and US President Donald Trump are heating up over the strict regulation of US Big Tech companies. Trump has previously condemned the EU's fines as "overseas extortion" and a "form of taxation."
Microsoft is optimistic that their new offer will bring the Teams investigation to an end without any penalties in the near future. At stake are hefty fines of up to 10% of the company's global annual turnover.
As part of the concessions, Microsoft commits to boosting interoperability with other products, like making a Zoom button available in the menu bar of Microsoft Outlook.
"Our proposed commitments stem from constructive, genuine conversations with the European Commission over several months," said Microsoft. "We believe they offer a clear and comprehensive resolution to concerns raised by our competitors and will expand customer choices."
Salesforce, Slack's parent company, expressed intent to closely scrutinize Microsoft's proposed commitments. "The European Commission's declaration of a market test further affirms that Microsoft's anti-competitive practices with Teams have damaged competition and necessitate a binding, enforceable, and effective resolution," said Sebastian Niles, president and chief legal officer of Salesforce.
Microsoft may soon face a second investigation in Brussels, owing to a complaint from Google, which alleges its rival engages in unfair cloud computing practices. Meanwhile, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority is probing Microsoft for its commanding position in the UK cloud computing market.
Additional insights:
- The proposed commitments encompass the separation of Teams from Office suites, improved interoperability with rival collaboration applications, and global alignment in suite offers and pricing.
- Microsoft's promises to boost interoperability include allowing a Zoom button in the menu bar of Microsoft Outlook, making Teams more accessible to other third-party videoconferencing solutions, and ensuring that customer data can be easily transferred for use in competing applications.
- Customers purchasing Office suites will have the choice of subscribing to versions that either include or exclude Teams, and can switch even within existing contracts.
- The European Commission is considering Microsoft's recent concessions on Teams and Office, including sustaining their separation for seven years, as part of a market test to gauge if technology solutions will address antitrust concerns in markets dominated by Microsoft.
- In the wake of increased scrutiny from the European Commission, Microsoft has vowed to improve interoperability with other technology products, such as making a Zoom button available in Microsoft Outlook, as a means to expand customer choices and address concerns raised by competitors.
