European Union: Issued European Commission statement of objections as part of investigation into Microsoft regarding anticompetitive practices related to Teams

On 25 June 2024, the European Commission issued its statement of objections to Microsoft, expressing a preliminary view that the company may have violated EU antitrust rules. The concern arises from Microsoft's practice of bundling its Teams communication and collaboration tool with its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 productivity suites for businesses. The integration, according to the Commission, could restrict competition in the market for communication and collaboration products by leveraging Microsoft's dominance in the SaaS productivity applications market. The investigation assesses whether Microsoft's conduct since April 2019 has unfairly limited customer choice and hindered innovation by competitors, particularly through distribution advantages and interoperability limitations with rival services. Despite Microsoft's adjustments to Teams distribution, the Commission deems these measures insufficient to address competition concerns. The investigation remains open, pending further examination of Microsoft's practices under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).