The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is speeding up scrutiny of Microsoft (MSFT) as part of an ongoing investigation to check if the company illegally monopolizes parts of the enterprise software market with its cloud software and AI services, including Copilot, Bloomberg News reported.
In recent weeks, the regulator has issued civil investigative demands to companies that compete with Microsoft in the business software and cloud computing markets. The demands feature queries on Microsoft’s licensing and other business practices, the report added, citing people with knowledge of the matter. At least half a dozen companies have received the requests.
Microsoft and the FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
The FTC is searching for evidence that Microsoft makes it difficult for customers to use Windows, Office, and other products on rival cloud services. The agency is also asking for information on Microsoft’s bundling of AI, security, and identity software into other products, including Windows and Office, the report noted.
However, no final decisions have been made yet.
Since complaints came from customers and competitors about its licensing practices, Microsoft has made some changes aimed at easing policies and, in particular, helping smaller European cloud providers more easily host Microsoft products, the report added. Last year, Microsoft signed an agreement with a group representing European cloud providers that takes more steps to address the concerns.
Microsoft has noted that some of its products are not fully interoperable with competing clouds because the technology underneath some features is different, the report added.
The investigation into licensing restrictions relates to rules changes Microsoft first introduced in 2019. Those changes also have been scrutinized by U.K. regulators, and many of the questions in the FTC demand appear to echo that work, according to the report.
The FTC sent Microsoft a demand for information in late 2024, the news outlet previously reported. The document requested the company to provide data about its AI operations, including the cost to train models and receive data, going as far back as 2016. The regulator was looking for details about Microsoft data centers, its struggles to find enough computing power to meet customer demand, and the company’s software licensing practices, the report added.
Most of the questions were about Microsoft’s licensing practices. About a third of them focused on the tech giant’s AI business and reflected concerns that Microsoft canceled some of its own work after investing in OpenAI and leaning heavily on its software, ending potential competition, the report noted.
Former FTC chief Lina Khan had launched the probe into Microsoft during the Biden administration. The investigation is now in the hands of FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson during Donald Trump’s second term.