The Federal Trade Commission has opened a Comprehensive antitrust investigation into MicrosoftThat also includes its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan had approved the investigation before her possible departure in January following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory and was expected to appoint a fellow Republican with a softer approach to business.
The agency is investigating allegations that the software giant is potentially abusing its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from transferring their data from its Azure cloud service to other competing platforms. .
Microsoft declined to comment. The FTC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
FTC antitrust lawyers are scheduled to meet with Microsoft competitors next week to gather more information about the technology company’s business practices. Bloomberg reported Earlier on Wednesday.
Microsoft shares were down more than 1% in after-hours trading.
