The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has recently expanded its antitrust investigation into Microsoft, focusing on its cloud computing, software licensing models, and collaboration with OpenAI. Regulators are concerned that Microsoft may be using strategic investments and licensing terms to strengthen its market dominance and restrict competition.
Microsoft Faces Antitrust Scrutiny from US Regulators, Raising Monopoly Concerns
The US FTC began investigating Microsoft's market practices last year, and has now further expanded the scope. According to a Bloomberg report, the FTC has recently met with various companies and organizations to gather information on Microsoft, focusing on several core issues:
- Concerns about cloud market dominance: Whether Microsoft is using unfair licensing terms to prevent enterprise customers from switching to competing cloud services, such as AWS or Google Cloud.
- Impact on AI technology competition: Microsoft's reduction of internal AI R&D funding and increased reliance on OpenAI may potentially impact AI market competition.
- Challenges for enterprise customers: Some enterprises have reported that Microsoft's software licensing model lacks transparency and even includes punitive terms, making it difficult for customers to choose other suppliers.
The FTC has currently requested detailed data center information from Microsoft and asked the company to explain its upcoming licensing rule changes, as the regulator seeks to determine whether Microsoft is leveraging its market influence to strengthen its monopolistic position.
OpenAI Collaboration Model Becomes a Key Investigation Point
Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, and the two companies have deeply integrated their collaboration, with OpenAI's technology becoming the core of Microsoft's AI products (such as Copilot). However, recent changes in their collaboration model have raised concerns, as while Microsoft still has a right of first refusal, OpenAI can now seek other cloud providers, such as Google or Amazon.
This collaboration relationship has raised the regulator's alarm, as the FTC is concerned that Microsoft may be using its financial and technological control over OpenAI to further monopolize the AI market and suppress the development of other competitors.
Additionally, the FTC is also focusing on Microsoft's internal AI R&D direction. It has been observed that Microsoft has recently reduced the size of its internal AI team and redirected more resources to OpenAI, which may impact the diversity of AI technology development and is still under further investigation.
International Regulators Have Divergent Attitudes, US Regulatory Pressure Likely to Increase
The collaboration between Microsoft and OpenAI has also caught the attention of international regulatory bodies. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has previously completed its review and determined that the collaboration does not constitute a formal merger, deciding not to intervene further. However, the US FTC appears to hold a different view and plans to conduct a deeper investigation into Microsoft's market influence.
On the European Union side, while no formal investigation has been launched yet, the EU has been closely monitoring large-scale investments in the AI industry and may not rule out following the US regulatory actions in the future.
