Microsoft is facing potential fines of up to 10 percent of its global revenues, which totaled $211 billion for fiscal year 2023. The European Commission has found that Microsoft violated antitrust regulations by using its market dominance to promote its communication tool, Teams, to the detriment of consumers and competitors. To avoid hefty fines, Microsoft can request an oral hearing before the final decision is made.
The complaint against Microsoft was filed by Slack Technologies, owned by Salesforce, in 2020. The EC stated that Microsoft had been favoring Teams by including it in its cloud-productivity applications like Office 365 and Microsoft 365, limiting competition in the communication and collaboration products market.
The commission found that Microsoft’s conduct may have prevented competition and innovation, ultimately harming customers in the European Economic Area. If these claims are confirmed, Microsoft would be in violation of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.
The commission has the authority to impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company’s global annual turnover for such violations. Microsoft’s revenue for fiscal year 2023 was over $211 billion.
In response to the findings, Microsoft unbundled Teams from its suites in the European Economic Area and Switzerland and pledged to enhance interoperability with third-party apps and services. The company also created new mechanisms for third parties to host Office web applications.
Despite these changes, the EC deemed them insufficient to address its concerns and stated that more changes to Microsoft’s conduct are necessary to restore competition. Microsoft has the opportunity to respond to the concerns raised and request an oral hearing before a final decision is made.
Salesforce welcomed the EC’s decision, calling it a win for customer choice and competition. Microsoft is one of the companies designated as a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act, and was given until March 7 to fully comply with all regulations. Microsoft has implemented new data-handling practices to ensure fair competition in the market. Please rewrite the following sentence: “She decided to go for a walk in the park to clear her mind.”
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