European Union regulators announced on Friday that they had accepted Microsoft's proposed settlement, officially closing their investigation into its alleged illegal bundling of the Teams video conferencing app. This decision means Microsoft has successfully avoided a potentially substantial antitrust fine. Under the agreement, Microsoft pledged to separate Teams from Office 365 and Microsoft 365 plans and sell it as a standalone offering, launch lower-priced plans without Teams, and improve compatibility between competing software and Microsoft services. Microsoft's Vice President of European Government Affairs, Nanna-Louise Linde, stated that the company will swiftly implement these commitments.
The settlement is seen as a signal of a shift in the EU's antitrust approach. Just last week, the EU fined Google $3 billion, demanding it stop favoring its own products in advertising technology. Analysts believe that adopting a negotiation approach rather than penalties with Microsoft is expected to ease recent tensions in EU-US trade relations. The European Commission previously stated that Microsoft had given Teams an unfair advantage through bundling since 2019, but the lack of substantive objections from competitors during this market test paved the way for a settlement.
In recent years, the EU has been active in the field of technology regulation. In addition to Microsoft, Apple has agreed to open its mobile wallet technology to competitors, while Amazon has adjusted its "Buy Box" mechanism and pledged not to use non-public data. These cases demonstrate that the EU is promoting fair competition in the market through a combination of fines and rectifications, while also preferring to avoid protracted legal disputes through negotiation.
