Google files FTC complaint against Microsoft’s cloud business practices

Google filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claiming that Microsoft followed anti-competitive practices in the cloud computing market.

Tech giant Google is no stranger to allegations of anti-competitive practices. Google’s filing claims that its long standing rival Microsoft utilized unfair licensing terms to create client dependencies and exercise control over the cloud computing market.

Google’s letter to the FTC was in response to a broader request by the organization for comments on potential anti-competitive actions in the cloud industry.

In the filing, tech mogul Google explicitly targeted Microsoft, claiming that the firm’s dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products make it perplexing for clients to opt for anything other than Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure offering. 

Google pigeonholed Microsoft’s licensing restrictions as a “complex web” that prevents businesses from diversifying their enterprise software vendors.

In addition, Google emphasized that such control poses considerable threats to cybersecurity and national security. It pointed out previous cyberattacks involving Microsoft products, including the infamous SolarWinds Breach. Both Google and Microsoft have active cybersecurity procedures that address and research cyber threats.

Antitrust apprehensions are not new to Google. In January 2023, The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its second antitrust lawsuit against Google, focusing on the tech giant’s advertising business. The previous antitrust lawsuit, filed in October 2020, accused the company of leveraging its monopoly influence to suppress competition in internet search algorithms through exclusionary agreements.