Google has withdrawn it’s antitrustโค complaint against Microsoft with theโข European Union, as โฃthe EU’s own investigation into Microsoft’sโ cloud practices progresses, Reuters has learned. The move comes as Brusselsโข is expected to โsoon issue a Statement of Objections, โa formal charge sheet in antitrust cases, signaling a โขdeepening scrutiny of Microsoft’s bundling of its Teams interaction and collaborationโค platform โขwith โคits Office suite.
Google initially filed โthe โขcomplaint in 2023, โalleging โMicrosoft wasโ unfairlyโฃ leveraging its dominance in office productivity software to gain โanโค advantage inโข the cloud computing market. Though, with the โฃEU’s autonomous and comprehensive investigation alreadyโข underway – possibly leading to significant penalties for Microsoft – Google has decided toโฃ discontinue its separateโ challenge.The EU probe centers on whether Microsoft illegally tied Teams to office,hindering competition from rival products. A decision โฃin the โEU case โcould โฃreshape the cloud market โand impact โmillions of businesses โคrelyingโ on these services.โ
Foo Yunโ Chee of โฃReuters reported that google โคconfirmed the โขwithdrawal of its complaint. The EUโ Commission did not immediately respond to a โคrequest for โขcomment.
