Microsoft is being investigated by the FTC over antitrust concerns

Microsoft is being investigated by the FTC over antitrust concerns

Microsoft is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission over a wide-ranging antitrust probe, making it the fifth major tech company to come under such scrutiny in as many years.

The agency is probing Microsoft's cloud and software licensing business, cybersecurity services and AI offerings. Bloomberg first reported the news and The Verge confirmed the inquiry with a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to speak about a confidential investigation.

The information demand spans hundreds of pages and follows more than a year of informal discussions with Microsoft's competitors and partners. According to the source, one focus is on how Microsoft bundles productivity and security software with its Azure cloud. The FTC's interest in Microsoft's cloud business grew in the wake of a number of security incidents affecting its products, especially because Microsoft is a top supplier of software to US government agencies. Both the FTC and Microsoft declined to comment.

The government's Cybersecurity Review Board concluded earlier this year that "Microsoft's security culture was inadequate and needs improvement, particularly given the company's centrality in the technology ecosystem." Soon after, CEO Satya Nadella issued a memo to employees, saying, "If you are faced with a trade-off between security and any other priority, your answer is clear: do security."

If the FTC files suit against the company, it would take Microsoft back to a point of no return, if not a bygone era. The company faced antitrust lawsuits from the Justice Department in the late '90s for bundling its web browser and Windows operating system. But in recent years Microsoft has mostly escaped the antitrust scrutiny applied to Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google, each of which is fighting its own monopoly charges from the government.

Still, the Democratic majority on the FTC is set to change shortly after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in in January. He will appoint one of the agency's two current Republican commissioners as acting chairman, and eventually nominate a new chairman or commissioner for the agency who matches his views. However, it's not out of the question that he will continue the investigations — as Trump's previous DOJ and FTC filed antitrust lawsuits against Google and Meta, respectively.