The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly investigating Microsoft as it did in 1998. According to ProPublica, an investigation into outgoing Commissioner Lina Khan is said to be in full swing during the waning days of the Biden administration. The FTC is particularly concerned about Microsoft’s bundling of its ubiquitous Office products with cybersecurity and cloud computing services. This included a deal to upgrade the government bundle for a limited time, which essentially had the effect of exploiting the government’s cybersecurity crisis to sell more licenses.
This article adds further details to November Bloomberg and Financial Times reports about the FTC’s investigation into Windows manufacturers. Microsoft’s competitors complain that bundling together popular software and cloud services has made it harder for them to compete, the publication said. According to ProPublica, FTC lawyers recently met with Microsoft’s competitors and are scheduling meetings.
Microsoft confirmed to ProPublica that the FTC has issued a civil investigative demand (essentially a subpoena) to force the company to turn over information related to the case. A Microsoft spokesperson told the publication that, without providing any examples on record, the FTC’s document is “broad and far-reaching, requiring demands that are beyond the realm of even logical possibility.” I’m doing it,” he said.
The investigation follows another ProPublica report in November in which Microsoft appears to have exploited a series of cyberattacks to sell more licenses to the U.S. government. After a meeting with President Biden in summer 2021, the company offered to upgrade the government’s existing bundle (including Windows and its Office suite) to a more expensive version that added the company’s advanced cybersecurity products. He is said to have proposed. Microsoft also provided consultants to install the upgrade and train employees to use it.
Many branches of the US government (including all military services in the Department of Defense) accepted and began paying for the more expensive bundles after the trial ended. (The hassle of switching to a different cybersecurity product after a trial ends actually guarantees that will happen.) ProPublica’s account is essentially a way for Microsoft to use its cybersecurity crisis to boost sales and increase profits. It is depicted as being misused. We’re talking about the later stages of capitalism, folks.
microsoft
Ironically, this sales strategy stemmed from, you guessed it, Microsoft’s security flaws. Biden urged Big Tech leaders to strengthen government cybersecurity in the wake of the SolarWinds attack, which exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft ID services. The company reportedly knew the app contained a “security nightmare” that allowed hackers to impersonate legitimate employees and probe sensitive information without arousing suspicion. . But patching the flaw would add friction to government logins as the company competes for U.S. contracts. Microsoft reportedly chose to remain silent rather than risk losing business.
Experts who spoke to ProPublica say the government’s trial marketing plan may have violated contract and competition regulations. The publication reported that even Microsoft’s lawyers were concerned that the deal would raise antitrust concerns.
If this sounds familiar, it’s the same antitrust lawsuit the government brought against Microsoft in 1998. Bundling was also at the center of the conversation, with the FTC accusing the company of engaging in anticompetitive conduct by including Internet Explorer in Windows, a move that stifled rivals like Netscape in the early days of the Internet. This is a movement that is considered to be something that can be done.
