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The concession of splitting up Teams and the “Office” product line wasn’t enough for the European Union’s competition regulator. The European Commission warned on Tuesday that the move violated EU antitrust rules. If the EU sticks to its position, Microsoft could face a fine of up to 10% of annual sales.
In response to these allegations, the US company had announced in April that in future Teams would be sold globally, and not just in Europe as previously planned, separately from Office packages.
Change ‘Not Enough’
“The Commission considers that these changes are not sufficient at this point. Microsoft must do more to restore competition,” the statement said. “Maintaining competition in telecommunications and collaborative applications is essential as it fosters innovation in these markets,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The EU investigation follows a complaint from rival Salesforce, which owns messaging app Slack. Teams was originally launched in 2017 as a free alternative to Skype Business as part of Office 365. It has grown in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic, largely because of its video conferencing capabilities.
Microsoft expresses willingness to cooperate
The Commission explained its criticism that joint marketing with Office gave Microsoft an advantage in sales. Interaction with Microsoft programs could also be problematic if customers used competing messaging systems. Microsoft boss Brad Smith stressed the company’s willingness to address Brussels’ concerns. “We welcome the further clarifications we have received since today and will continue to work hard to find a solution to the Commission’s remaining concerns.” The US company has paid a total of 2.2 billion euros over the past two decades for illegal bundling of two or more products.
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