UPDATED 13:42 EST / DECEMBER 01 2023

POLICY

Google reportedly asks UK’s CMA to take antitrust action against Microsoft

Google LLC has reportedly asked U.K. antitrust officials to take action against Microsoft Corp. over the way the company licenses its software to public cloud users.

Reuters reported the move today. Google is said to have made the request in a letter sent to the U.K.’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority. The news comes two months after the CMA launched a probe into the U.K. cloud market with a particular emphasis on Microsoft and Amazon Web Services Inc.

Google’s letter reportedly focuses on software licensing in public cloud environments. According to the search giant, Microsoft’s licensing terms incentivize customers to run its software products on Azure rather than competing platforms. This practice, Google reportedly argued to the CMA, is the “only significant barrier to competition” in the U.K. public cloud market.

In October, the CMA launched an antitrust probe into the business practices of major cloud providers. The move came in response to a market study by Ofcom, the regulator that oversees the U.K.’s telecommunications and broadcast sectors. The study placed a major emphasis on Microsoft’s software licensing practices, dedicating an eight-page chapter to the topic. 

According to Ofcom, industry players have complained that some Microsoft software products cost less to run on Azure than on rival platforms. It’s believed that the favorable pricing may give Azure an unfair competitive edge. Additionally, Ofcom flagged concerns that downloading security patches for Microsoft products may be more difficult when they’re installed in third-party cloud platforms.

Google’s letter to the CMA reportedly called on the regulator to investigate Microsoft’s software licensing terms. Additionally, the search giant is said to have submitted six recommendations for antitrust actions that could be taken to address the matter. Reuters’ report this morning outlined two of those recommendations.

Google’s first suggestion is that the CMA force Microsoft to make security updates more easily accessible for customers who run its software on third-party clouds. Additionally, the search giant is arguing that Azure should be made more interoperable with other clouds. It’s unclear exactly what type of interoperability enhancements Google is seeking. One goal could be to make it easier for customers to move their applications and data between clouds.

Microsoft’s software licensing terms have drawn scrutiny in not only the U.K. but also the European Union. CISPE, an industry group that represents about two dozen EU-based cloud providers and AWS, submitted a regulatory complaint over the matter last year. The complaint accuses Microsoft of imposing “self-preferencing pricing and technical and economic lock-in” on customers with its licensing terms.

Last year, the company announced a series of licensing changes to address concerns raised by competitors. The changes made it easier for cloud providers to offer Microsoft software to their customers. Additionally, the company simplified the text of its licensing agreements and made a number of other improvements.

Photo: Unsplash

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