The US Federal Trade Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into anti-competitive practices at Microsoft’s cloud computing business, as the US regulator continues to pursue Big Tech in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency.The US Federal Trade Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into anticompetitive practices at Microsoft’s cloud computing business, as the US regulator continues to pursue Big Tech in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency.
The FTC is yet to formally request documents or other information from Microsoft as part of the inquiry, the people said.A move to challenge Microsoft’s cloud business practices would mark the latest broadside against Big Tech by the FTC’s chair Lina Khan, who has centred her tenure on aggressively curbing the monopolistic powers of the likes of Meta and Amazon.
The FTC also highlighted fees charged on users transferring data out of certain cloud systems and minimum spend contracts, which offer discounts to companies in return for a set level of spending. The FTC in 2022 sued to block Microsoft’s $75bn acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard over concerns the deal would harm competitors to its Xbox consoles and cloud-gaming business. A federal court shot down an attempt by the FTC to block it, which is being appealed. A revised version of the deal in the meantime closed last year following its clearance by the UK’s CMA.
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Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »