Microsoft Avoids EU Fine with Teams Unbundling Commitments

The European Commission has accepted commitments from Microsoft to address antitrust concerns related to bundling its Teams communication app with Office 365 and Microsoft 365 productivity suites, thereby avoiding a potentially hefty fine. These commitments include offering Office versions without Teams at reduced prices, allowing customers with long-term licenses to switch to versions without Teams, and improving interoperability between Teams competitors and Microsoft products. Microsoft also agreed to enable easier data transfer from Teams to rival applications. The obligations will be legally binding for at least seven years, with interoperability and data portability commitments extending to ten years. This decision follows complaints from Slack and another competitor, which alleged that Microsoft abused its dominant market position by tying Teams to its widely used Office software, hindering fair competition. EU officials emphasized that the agreement will open up the market for collaboration tools, benefiting businesses across Europe and worldwide.