Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been hit by a parting shot by US Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan, who has launched a competition probe into its cloud computing and wider business practices.
A huge stack of detailed information has been requested by FTC agents, Bloomberg reported overnight, targeting its cloud computing, software bundling, cybersecurity offerings, and AI products.
The antitrust investigation examines whether the $3 trillion company's bundling of productivity and security software with cloud services harms competition.
Many smaller competitors have argued that Microsoft's licensing terms and bundling practices, such as including its Teams product as part of its Office products, disadvantages rivals.
The report suggested the FTC is also scrutinising Microsoft's cybersecurity incidents, such as how a Crowdstrike update this summer led to a global outage, given its critical role as a government contractor and the wide array of company products.
This investigation underscores broader concerns about the concentrated cloud market and its economic impact during outages or failures.
Khan is highly likely to be replaced in the role by President-elect Donald Trump, though he has not yet announced his nomination for the role.