Google files EU antitrust complaint accusing Microsoft of stifling cloud competition

Google filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission on Wednesday accusing Microsoft of using unfair licensing contracts to stifle competition in the multibillion-dollar cloud computing industry.

At the heart of Google's complaint is the allegation that Microsoft uses unfair licensing terms to "lock in" clients and exert control over the cloud market.

Google alleges that Microsoft, through its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products, can make it difficult for its massive roster of clients to use anything but its Azure cloud infrastructure offering.

The internet giant said in its complaint that restrictions contained in Microsoft's cloud licensing terms make it harder for customers to move their workloads from Microsoft's Azure cloud technology to competitors' clouds, despite there being no technical barriers to doing so.

European businesses and public sector organizations have been forced to pay the firm up to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) a year in licensing penalties due to restrictions on customers' ability to switch from one cloud provider to another, Google said, citing a 2023 study by CISPE, a trade body for the cloud computing sector.

The antitrust complaint from Google arrives after CISPE and its members in July agreed to a settlement with Microsoft which would see the firm make changes to address competition concerns.

Referring to the CISPE settlement, Microsoft said in a statement Wednesday that it expects the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, to dismiss Google's complaint.

"Microsoft settled amicably similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, even after Google hoped they would keep litigating," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC via email. "Having