News
FTC Expands Microsoft Antitrust Investigation Under Trump Administration
- By Chris Paoli
- March 13, 2025
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is pressing ahead with a broad investigation into Microsoft's business practices, an inquiry that began in the final weeks of the Biden administration. Now under Trump-appointed FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, the agency is continuing to collect evidence, showing it is still focused on big tech companies.
Last year, the FTC ordered Microsoft to hand over information about its AI business, going back to 2016. According to Bloomberg (paywalled), which first reported the continued probe this week, the investigation is focused on:
- Microsoft's investment in OpenAI and whether it gives the company an unfair advantage in the AI market.
- Why Microsoft cut funding for its own AI projects after investing in OpenAI.
- Microsoft's cloud software licensing rules, which competitors say make it harder for them to compete.
The FTC wants to know if Microsoft's power in other industries gives it an unfair edge in AI and whether its software bundles limit competition. Microsoft invested billions of dollars in OpenAI without telling regulators in advance, read the complaint from the FTC. The FTC is investigating if Microsoft structured the deal in a way to avoid antitrust reviews while still gaining control over OpenAI's direction.
"We are working cooperatively with the agency," said Microsoft's Alex Haurek, in a statement to Bloomberg.
Trump's newly appointed FTC chair, Andrew Ferguson, says investigating big tech is a top priority, according to the Bloomberg report. His team is continuing the probe into Amazon and whether the company's Prime membership has deceived customers by locking them into a membership that they cannot cancel.
Microsoft is cooperating with the investigation but may try to limit how much information it has to provide. The FTC's decision could lead to formal charges against Microsoft, though the process may take years to play out.