US FTC ramps up scrutiny of Microsoft over AI, cloud practices, questions rivals, Bloomberg reports

Feb 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is escalating scrutiny of Microsoft and has sought answers from the company’s rivals on the tech giant’s licensing and other business practices, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

The agency has sent civil investigative requests in recent weeks to Microsoft’s competitors in the enterprise software and cloud computing markets, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter, which said at least half a dozen companies had received the demands.

The FTC is also seeking information about Microsoft’s bundling of AI, security and identity software into its offerings, Bloomberg said.

Microsoft and the FTC did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

In 2024, the agency, under then Chair Lina Khan, opened an investigation into Microsoft on whether it had abused its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from moving their data to rival cloud platforms.

Competitors have criticized Microsoft’s practices, saying they keep customers locked into its Azure cloud service.

Google filed a complaint with the European Commission in September 2024, saying Microsoft was exploiting its dominant Windows Server operating system to prevent competition.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)