Google reportedly accuses Microsoft of unlawful cloud practices in US
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Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has reportedly accused Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) of conducting anticompetitive practices in the domestic cloud computing market.
In a complaint filed to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) said Microsoft (MSFT) has used the licensing terms on Office 365 to lock customers into its Azure business, according to The Information, which reviewed the documents.
Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
The cloud computing industry is dominated by three companies: Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL), which account for more than 65% of the total market, according to Synergy Research Group.
Other companies, such as HP Enterprise, Oracle, IBM and others, account for the rest.
Last month, it was reported that Microsoft's (MSFT) Azure cloud computing unit has become the ire of the European Union's antitrust trust enforcers amid concerns it is using its power to eliminate or hamper rivals.
In 2022, Microsoft (MSFT) was the subject of an antitrust complaint in Europe over its cloud computing practices after OVHcloud, a French cloud-computing company, said the U.S. tech giant was not acting in good faith.
Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell 1.6% in mid-day trading on Wednesday, while Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) fell nearly 2%.
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