A formal investigation launched by the Commission in July 2023 led to its announcement last summer of its preliminary finding that Microsoft had granted Teams a competitive advantage by tying it to its widely-used productivity software suites.

While Microsoft made changes in the way it distributes Teams following the opening of the investigation, the Commission said these were insufficient to address its concerns.

In order to address the Commission’s continued competition concerns, Microsoft has proposed a number of measures, including offering EEA customers cheaper versions of Office 365 and Microsoft 365 which do not include Teams, as well as commitments on interoperability and data portability.

The commitments offered by Microsoft would remain in force for seven years, except for interoperability and data portability obligations which would remain in force for 10 years.

The implementation of the commitments would be monitored by a monitoring trustee, who will also mediate in case of disputes between third parties and Microsoft. If a third party concern persists, the dispute will be subject to fast-track arbitration. The monitoring trustee will also report regularly to the Commission.

Interested parties now have one month to submit their views to the Commission on Microsoft’s proposed commitments.