EU regulators let Microsoft off the hook after Teams unbundl

"Brussels announced on Friday that it has accepted Microsoft's concessions, formally ending a five-year investigation triggered by a 2020 complaint from Slack, now owned by Salesforce. Slack had accused Redmond of using its dominance in Office to crush rivals by quietly bolting Teams onto Microsoft 365 at no extra cost, making it the default collaboration tool for millions of businesses overnight."

"David Schellhase moaned to the EC that Microsoft was "reverting to past behavior," adding that Redmond "created a weak, copycat product and tied it to their dominant Office product, force installing it and blocking its removal." The Commission took the complaint seriously, opening an antitrust probe in 2023 and signalling that a fine could be on the horizon. Microsoft offered a package of concessions back in May, pledging to give customers a real choice about whether they want Teams included with their Office subscriptions."

"From now on, European customers can buy Microsoft 365 without Teams at a slightly lower price, or pay extra to keep Teams bundled in. The company also promised to open up more APIs and improve data portability so competitors can integrate more easily with its services. These concessions, now approved by the European Commission, will remain in force for seven years, except for the commitments related to interoperability and data portability, which will remain in force for ten years."

European regulators accepted Microsoft’s concessions to resolve a five-year antitrust probe initiated after a 2020 complaint from Slack (now owned by Salesforce). Slack alleged Microsoft used Office dominance to bundle Teams into Microsoft 365 at no extra charge, making Teams the default collaboration tool. Microsoft agreed to let European customers buy Microsoft 365 without Teams at a slightly lower price or pay extra to retain Teams, to open more APIs, and to improve data portability for easier competitor integration. These commitments last seven years, with interoperability and data portability obligations extending to ten years. The Commission closed the case without imposing fines.

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