The Federal Trade Commission is proceeding with a sweeping antitrust investigation of Microsoft that was initiated during the final days of the Biden administration, indicating that President Trump‘s newly appointed FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson will maintain scrutiny of major technology companies.
FTC staff have been actively working on the investigation in recent weeks, meeting with companies and other groups to gather information, according to people familiar with the confidential probe. The agency sent Microsoft a civil investigative demand late last year requiring the company to provide extensive data about its AI operations, cloud computing business, and software licensing practices.
The investigation focuses particularly on Microsoft’s licensing terms, which competitors allege make it difficult for customers to move from Azure cloud services to rival platforms. The FTC is also scrutinizing Microsoft’s decision to reduce funding for its internal artificial intelligence projects after investing in OpenAI, which could potentially harm competition in the emerging AI market.
“We are working cooperatively with the agency,” said Alex Haurek, a Microsoft spokesman.
Ferguson, who became FTC chair when Trump took office in January, stated in his first public remarks that investigating the tech sector is his highest priority. He previously supported a filing backing Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI’s restructuring plans.
The probe is examining Microsoft’s data center capacity constraints to better understand cloud computing costs and whether profits from other parts of Microsoft’s business give it an unfair advantage over AI competitors.
The FTC is also requesting information about licensing rule changes Microsoft plans to implement later this year and has been investigating whether the company’s partnership with OpenAI was structured to avoid merger investigation.
The investigation could take years and may not necessarily result in the agency bringing a case.