Microsoft is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a broad antitrust probe, becoming the fifth Big Tech company to face such scrutiny in recent years. The FTC is examining Microsoft’s cloud computing, software licensing, cybersecurity services, and AI offerings. This probe follows a series of informal discussions with Microsoft’s competitors and partners over the past year.
Key areas of focus include how Microsoft bundles productivity and security software with its Azure cloud services, especially in light of recent security issues that have impacted its products and the company’s role as a major supplier of software to US government agencies. The FTC’s interest in Microsoft’s cloud business has intensified following security incidents, leading to the conclusion that Microsoft’s security culture needs significant improvement. If the FTC decides to file a lawsuit, it would return Microsoft to a familiar position from an earlier era, when it faced an ant-monopoly lawsuit from the Department of Justice over the bundling of its web browser and Windows operating system in the late 1990s. In recent years, Microsoft has largely avoided the kind of antitrust scrutiny faced by Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Google, each currently battling their own monopoly charges from the government