Microsoft is officially under investigation by the European antitrust which wants to verify the legitimacy of the integration of Teams with Office. If the operation were to prove illegitimate for the European authority, the US company could receive a heavy fine, which would add to the 2.2 billion euros in fines received so far by the EU antitrust for violation of competition rules. The European Commission’s investigation follows a complaint filed in 2020 by the messaging app Slack, a direct competitor of Teams and used above all in the workplace. Slack is owned by US giant Salesforce.
The EU antitrust authority said it was concerned Microsoft could abuse and defend its market position in productivity software, limiting competition in the European market for communication and collaboration products. “Remote communication and collaboration tools like Teams have become indispensable for many companies in Europe. We therefore need to ensure that the markets for these products remain competitive and that companies are free to choose the products that best meet their needs. This is the which is why we are investigating whether Microsoft’s linking of its productivity suites with Teams could violate EU competition rules”, commented the vice president of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, in charge of Competition.
Having associated Teams with its software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook – at no extra cost to customers – Microsoft is suspected by the Brussels authority of having abused its position. The company immediately responded to the inquiry, promising to collaborate with Brussels. “We respect the work of the European Commission in this matter and take our responsibilities very seriously. We will continue to work with the Commission and are committed to finding solutions that address its concerns,” a spokesman said.
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