A class-action lawsuit for £1 billion has been filed against Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) in the United Kingdom. The lawsuit states that Microsoft caused businesses to overpay for Windows Server licenses on competitive cloud platforms such as Amazon (AMZN, Financial) AWS, Google (GOOG, Financial) Cloud, and Alibaba (BABA, Financial) Cloud. In the Competition Appeal Tribunal case, Microsoft is accused of its anti-competitive approach to pricing. By overcharging customers, the firm benefited its Azure cloud services from negligence on the side of the competitor platforms.
This legal challenge co-occurs with increasing concerns about the cloud computing industry. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission has opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft's software and cloud arms. At the same time, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation into Amazon and Microsoft's cloud services markets at the request of Ofcom. The above recommendations serve as a guide to the CMA's forthcoming report in 2024.
It's not the first time Microsoft has stayed under similar accusations. Late in July this year, the company agreed to pay €20 million to the EU trade group CISPE over an antitrust complaint, which could have inspired the latest litigation.
In the UK case financed by Litigation Capital Management and managed by the competition law specialist Dr. Maria Luisa Stasi, the benefits are explained by the policy that affects competition and forces users to choose Azure. Around a thousand firms are members of the suit, although many other UK businesses are members by default.
Dr. Stasi also seeks an order for Microsoft to reveal the full particulars of the so-called overcharges where compensation may be made to the affected business. Microsoft has not answered these claims to this date.
