EU Antitrust Regulators Question Microsoft’s Rivals On Cloud Data

According to a Reuters report, EU antitrust regulators are currently inquiring with Microsoft’s competitors about the specific customer data that is required to be provided to the company as part of their Azure cloud contracts.

CISPE, a group of cloud infrastructure services providers in Europe including Amazon, claimed in November that the contractual terms recently imposed by Microsoft, along with other practices, were having a negative impact on the European cloud computing ecosystem.

The European Commission sent a questionnaire to cloud providers requesting information on contractual clauses related to reporting European customer data to Microsoft.

According to a spokesperson for the EU executive, the Commission has received various complaints concerning Microsoft, including its product Azure, which is currently being evaluated using standard procedures.

Read more: Microsoft Buys Stake In London Stock Exchange In Cloud Data Deal

The EU competition enforcer inquired about the reporting frequency, duration of data requested, reporting format, and delivery method to either Microsoft or an auditor.

The recipients were given a deadline to respond regarding the potential consequences for not following the contractual clauses. They were asked if there were any actual or threatened repercussions.

The EU watchdog inquired about the possibility of Microsoft utilizing the information to reach out to the recipients’ clientele directly.

Microsoft chose not to provide a statement after being fined over 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) by the EU for multiple antitrust violations over the past decade.