Microsoft Is The Subject Of An FTC Antitrust Investigation Into Its Business Practices

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft, with a Bloomberg report stating that the company has requested that the Xbox manufacturer hand over information to aid in the investigation.

As part of the investigation, the FTC will be looking at everything from Microsoft’s cloud computing and software licensing business to cybersecurity and AI products. Lawyers for the FTC’s antitrust investigation are set to meet with competitors of Microsoft next week to obtain more details about the tech giant’s business practices. Microsoft and the FTC have declined to comment at the time of writing.

The FTC inquiry renews scrutiny of Microsoft for its business practices more than 25 years after the government sued the company over similar conduct involving bundling its Windows operating system and browser and unsuccessfully tried to break it up.

This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has come under the watchful attention of the FTC. The Redmond, Washington-based hardware giant clashed with the FTC during its attempts to finalise the buyout of Activision Blizzard last year, and the FTC was still trying to challenge the acquisition as late as September last year.

[Source – Bloomberg]