In November of 2022, Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe (CISPE) announced it was filing a formal complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG Comp) over unfair licensing practices. CISPE is joining its two members, OVHcloud and Aruba, who brought the same allegations against Microsoft. The trade group represents dozens of companies, including Amazon.
The press release from CISPE states that, despite assurances that Microsoft will terminate “their anti-competitive licensing practices,” there has been no formal action to do so. Additionally, Microsoft released new contract terms in October that “add new, unfair practices to the list.” CISPE and their partners are hoping for a swift investigation into Microsoft’s practices, which they say damage the European cloud system and deprive consumers of choices.