Microsoft faces mounting regulatory pressure over alleged anticompetitive practices within its cloud computing division.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is intensifying an investigation into whether Microsoft illegally bundles Office software and security products with its Azure platform. The FTC recently issued subpoenas to Microsoft’s competitors to gather evidence for the probe.
In Europe, the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are scrutinizing cloud licensing and the bundling of the Teams application with Office 365. Microsoft reached a settlement with the EU in late 2025 to unbundle Teams.
Broader investigations into Microsoft’s cloud market practices remain ongoing. Additionally, the company faces a multi-billion pound class-action lawsuit in the UK regarding its software licensing policies.