European Commission Sends Statement of Objections to Microsoft Regarding Teams
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On June 25, the European Commission (“Commission”) sent Microsoft a statement of objections (SO) for possibly abusive practices regarding Teams (tying, pre-installation, interoperability issues). The SO was issued as part of the investigation the Commission launched in July 2023 following receipt of a complaint by Slack Technologies. The Commission’s preliminary view is that Microsoft breached EU antitrust rules by tying its communication and collaboration product (Teams) to its popular suites for businesses (Office 365 and Microsoft 365). If confirmed, these practices would infringe Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.
BRG Managing Directors Dr Aleksandra Boutin and Dr Xavier Boutin worked on behalf of Slack and then Salesforce (while at their previous firm Positive Competition) to make the economic case that led the Commission to issue its objections, based on their experience of large abuse cases both in private practice and as enforcers at the Commission. The legal team is led by Trevor Soames and Athena Kontosakou of Quinn Emanuel and Anna Lyle Smith of Slaughter and May.
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