Complaint filed

Microsoft abuses market power, says Google

Google has filed a complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft for anti-competitive cloud business. The internet company argues that Microsoft, the world's largest software manufacturer, is using its dominant market position in software such as Windows Server to tie customers to Microsoft's Azure cloud platform.

Microsoft recently recorded strong growth in its cloud offerings, while Google's cloud division failed to meet analysts' expectations. For the Google group Alphabet, this is the first complaint to the EU Commission.

According to Google's complaint, Microsoft's anti-competitive behavior takes the form of restrictive licensing conditions and discriminatory prices. They make it more expensive and complex for customers to use Windows Server in cloud environments that are not provided by Microsoft, such as Google Cloud or Amazon's AWS.

Instead of allowing fair competition, Microsoft is using its market power in Windows Server to penalize customers who choose competing cloud providers, according to the complaint.