The Federal Trade Commission has opened a wide-ranging antitrust investigation into Microsoft, including its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
The investigation comes after the FTC commissioner, who is likely to resign in January following Donald Trump's presidential election victory and expectations that he will appoint a Republican with a more flexible approach to business. It had been approved by the head of the company, Lina Khan.
The agency said software giants could potentially increase their market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from moving data from their Azure cloud services to other competing platforms. We are investigating allegations of abuse.
Microsoft declined to comment. The FTC did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
FTC antitrust lawyers will meet with Microsoft's competitors next week to gather more information about the technology company's business practices. Bloomberg reported in the early hours of Wednesday.
Microsoft shares fell more than 1% in after-hours trading.
