Microsoft has reportedly offered to change the price difference between Office and Teams in the latest twist in the EU's ongoing antitrust probe into the tech giant.
Reuters, which cites three sources close to the story, is reporting that the Redmond-based vendor is attempting to satisfy the European Commission's investigation into Microsoft's allegedly anticompetitive practices to avoid a potentially substantial fine.
The issue dates back to Microsoft’s 2017 integration of Teams into Office 365, which eventually replaced Skype for Business and led Slack to file a complaint in 2020. The European Commission's investigation into Microsoft's competition practices formally launched in July 2023, culminating in Microsoft announcing it was unbundling Teams from Office, first in Europe and then globally in April last year, citing “feedback” from the European Commission.
However, the EU deemed these concessions insufficient and asserted that more changes to Microsoft’s conduct were necessary to restore competition.
Last June, the EU delivered a statement of objections to Microsoft over “possibly abusive” practices in bundling Teams and Office together. This meant they were examining whether bundling Teams with Office 365 and Microsoft 365—without a clear alternative—had restricted business customers’ choices.
The EU added that, if confirmed, these practices would infringe Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), prohibiting the abuse of a dominant market position. EU fines can reach up to 10 percent of a company's global annual revenue.
