Microsoft's legal battle over Teams dominance could be about to get even worse

Date:
Fri, 15 Sep 2023 09:39:10 +0000

Description:
Microsoft will unbundle Teams from its 365 suite next month, but it looks
like this wasnt enough for the European Commission.

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Despite recent efforts to appease European regulators, Microsoft could still be facing continued disapproval for the way its business practices gave Teams the upper hand in the world of video conferencing software .

Just a couple of weeks ago, the company confirmed that Teams would no longer be part of Microsoft 365 in Europe, starting this October.

However, a new Bloomberg report suggests that the compromise isn't enough,
and that the European Commission could be preparing a statement of
objections. Teams continues to be a hot topic in the EU

The report cites people familiar with the matter, who proclaimed that
Redmonds decision to split Teams from its online office package and sell it separately with an annual discount didnt satisfy regulators.

A statement of objections looks to be underway, which could be presented to the company within a matter of months.

Its unclear which part of Microsofts change failed to impress the European Commission, or what changes it would like the company to make regarding the app, but the news marks yet another battle between the tech giant and regulators.

The conflict started around three years ago, when Slack issued a complaint about Microsofts dominance in the market owing to unfair business practices - specifically, bundling the app with other software.

More recently, Zooms CEO spoke out about the ongoing situation, criticizing other regulatory bodies for not launching their own investigations and implying that the US should follow suit.

We asked Microsoft to comment on its decision to unbundle Teams from
Microsoft 365 just a few days ago, but the company declined. We offered the company another opportunity in the light of Bloomberg s report, but we did
not receive an immediate response. More from TechRadar Pro Check out our roundup of the best online collaboration tools Google Chat is no longer going to fight Microsoft Teams and Slack Looking to reduce business expenses dramatically? Weve rounded up the best free office software



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/microsofts-legal-battle-over-teams-dominance-cou ld-be-about-to-get-even-worse


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