Microsoft faces wide-ranging US antitrust probe

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), including of its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The probe was approved by FTC chair Lina Khan before her likely departure in January, following the presidential election victory of Donald Trump and the expectation he will appoint a fellow Republican with a softer approach towards business.

The agency is examining allegations that the software giant is potentially abusing its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from moving their data from its Azure cloud service to other competitive platforms.

Microsoft declined to comment. The FTC did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment. FTC antitrust lawyers are set to meet with Microsoft competitors next week to gather more information about the technology company’s business practices, Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday.