EU Seeks Public Feedback On Microsoft's Proposed Changes To Teams In Antitrust Probe

(RTTNews) - The European Commission has invited public response regarding Microsoft Corp.'s offers to address competition concerns related to Teams.

In a statement, the EU agency noted that the tech major has offered commitments, among others, to sell its Office product without communication and collaboration product Teams at a lower price than Office with Teams.

The move comes as Microsoft is facing antitrust fines over tying Teams to its popular productivity applications included in its suites for businesses Office 365 and Microsoft 365, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook.

According to the agency, if Microsoft does not honour such commitments, the Commission could impose a fine of up to 10% of its worldwide turnover, without having to prove an infringement of EU antitrust rules.

Under the proposed commitments, Microsoft would make available versions of these suites without Teams and at a reduced price, and allow customers to switch to suites without Teams, including in the framework of existing contracts. The company would also offer Teams' competitors increased interoperability with other Microsoft products; and allow customers to move their data out of Teams to facilitate the use of competing solutions.

The Commission noted that interested parties can submit their views on Microsoft's proposed commitments.

When Teams was launched, Microsoft included it by default in its widely-used SaaS productivity suites for business customers Office 365 and Microsoft 365.

Following the opening of a formal investigation in July 2023, the Commission preliminarily found that Microsoft restricted competition on the market for unified communication and collaboration products, granting Teams a competitive advantage in terms of distribution, which was exacerbated by interoperability limitations between Teams' competitors and Microsoft's offerings.

Through its conduct, Microsoft defended its market position in productivity software and its suites-centric model from competing suppliers of individual software.

In addition, Microsoft has decided that, if the commitments are made binding, it will align its worldwide suites offers and pricing with the commitments.

The Commission noted that commitments offered by Microsoft would remain in force for seven years, except for interoperability and data portability obligations which would remain in force for ten years.

The implementation of the commitments would be monitored by a monitoring trustee, who will also mediate in case of disputes between third parties and Microsoft.

Further, if a third party concern persists, the dispute will be subject to fast-track arbitration.