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The
FTC is investigating Microsoft's cloud computing business and
related product lines such as artificial intelligence and
cybersecurity, according to a person who was not authorized to
discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The
Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
It's the latest action of more than three years of aggressive
antitrust enforcement shepherded by FTC Chair Lina Khan, who was
elevated to lead the agency by President Joe Biden after he came
into office pledging tougher scrutiny of monopolistic behavior
by Big Tech companies.
Khan's FTC already lost one antitrust fight with Microsoft last
year when a federal judge declined to block its $69 billion
takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard.
This case would go deeper into the core of Microsoft's business
in a way the company hasn't experienced in the U.S. since its
antitrust showdown with the Justice Department in the 1990s.
Microsoft declined to comment. Bloomberg News first reported
about the investigation last week.
The case will only move forward if President-elect Donald
Trump's choice to lead the FTC decides to continue the
investigation and take it to court. Some analysts are expecting
a lighter approach to the tech industry under Trump, though
incoming Vice President JD Vance has praised Khan's work.
A number of other tech-related antitrust matters are also in
play, including the Department of Justice's investigation into
chipmaker Nvidia and its push to break up Google — possibly
spinning off the Chrome web browser — after a federal judge
ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
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