Microsoft Poised to Avoid French Antitrust Probe After Qwant Complaint Rejected

Qwant, which has traditionally used Microsoft’s Bing platform to power its search and news functions, filed a grievance earlier this year with France’s competition authority. The company accused Microsoft of anti-competitive practices that hindered Qwant’s ability to expand its own search services. Per Reuters, Qwant had also requested that the regulator impose interim measures against Microsoft while assessing whether there was sufficient evidence to launch a formal probe.

Qwant Chief Executive Olivier Abecassis said that during a closed-door hearing in June, investigators recommended rejecting both the company’s injunction request and the broader complaint. “In that case we will be left with no other option but to pursue all available legal avenues to protect our business from Microsoft’s egregious abuse, to defend our rights, and to seek compensation,” he said.

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The French regulator has declined to comment on the matter but is expected to issue its final decision within two weeks, though that timeline could still change, people familiar with the case told Reuters.

A Microsoft spokesperson maintained that Qwant’s allegations were unfounded, stating that the complaint “alleges harm to competition in the market for search, which is dominated by Google.”

According to Reuters, Qwant has accused Microsoft of enforcing exclusivity restrictions that prevent Qwant from fully developing its own search technology and of favoring itself in distributing search advertising. Microsoft plays a key role in Europe’s search-engine syndication market, supplying search results to smaller competitors such as Qwant, Ecosia, DuckDuckGo, and Lilo.