The Federal Trade Commission has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, including of its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source acquainted with the matter said Wednesday.
The probe was approved by FTC Chair Lina Khan ahead of her likely departure in January. The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president and the expectation he’ll appoint a fellow Republican with a softer approach toward business, leaves the consequence of the investigation up within the air.
The FTC is examining allegations that the software giant is potentially abusing its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to stop customers from moving their data from its Azure cloud service to other competitive platforms, sources confirmed earlier this month.
The FTC can be taking a look at practices related to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence products, the source said on Wednesday.
Microsoft declined to comment.
The FTC fielded complaints about Microsoft last yr because it examined the cloud computing market.
NetChoice, a lobbying group that represents online firms including Amazon and Google, which compete with Microsoft in cloud computing, criticized Microsoft’s licensing policies, and its integration of AI tools into its Office and Outlook.
“Provided that Microsoft is the world’s largest software company, dominating in productivity and operating systems software, the size and consequences of its licensing decisions are extraordinary,” the group said.
The FTC didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The FTC has demanded a broad range of detailed information from Microsoft, Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday.
