According to the Financial Times reported today, the EU is preparing new antitrust charges against Microsoft over concerns that the tech giant is 'undermining' competition from its video conferencing app Teams.
Citing several sources familiar with the matter, the EU Commission is stepping up formal charges against Microsoft over fears Teams is limiting industry competition. Microsoft had made concessions to avoid regulatory action, including proposing to separate Teams from other software in Europe and globally.
Sources say EU officials still believe Microsoft's actions are 'not enough' to ensure fair market competition.
Previously, the EU had accused Microsoft in September last year of bundling its chatting and video app Teams with Office, suggesting Microsoft's proposal to separate Teams from Office did not alleviate EU concerns.
In late August last year, Microsoft announced plans to decouple Teams from Office to make it easier for competitors' products to work with Microsoft software and avoid EU antitrust penalties.
TapTechNews Note: The case dates back to July 2020 when Slack Technologies complained to the EU Commission that Microsoft abused its market dominance by bundling Teams with its popular Office software, erasing competition for Microsoft Teams.
Teams is a chat-based intelligent teamwork tool that allows for synchronized document sharing and provides members with instant messaging tools including voice and video conferencing. Slack Technologies operates a similar product.
By bundling Teams with Office, Microsoft has forced millions of users to install Teams and unable to remove it.