Google Withdraws EU Antitrust Complaint Targeting Microsoft’s Cloud Business

Google reportedly withdrew an antitrust complaint that it filed with the European Union against Microsoft.

The company did so after the European Commission began investigating whether Microsoft’s cloud business, Azure, must adhere to the Digital Markets Act, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday (Nov. 28).

Google filed its antitrust complaint in 2024, alleging that Microsoft used unfair software licensing practices, according to the report.

“We filed our antitrust complaint with the European Commission to give voice to our customers and partners about the issue of anticompetitive cloud licensing practices,” said Giorgia Abeltino, head of government affairs and public policy at Google Cloud Europe, per the report.

The European Commission said earlier this month that the DMA may apply to services that don’t meet the usual thresholds for turnover and active users, according to the report.

Those thresholds had been an issue because it is more difficult to secure those numbers in the case of cloud providers that offer services through commercial contracts, the report said.

A European Commission spokesperson told the WSJ, per the report: “We will continue to closely [monitor] the cloud sector under antitrust tools with a view to ensuring that all European consumers and businesses can reap the benefits of the development of [the] cloud.”

It was reported in September 2024 that Google filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, accusing Microsoft of using unfair licensing terms to dominate the cloud computing industry.

Specifically, Google alleged that Microsoft was stifling competition by using restrictive contracts to lock clients into its Azure cloud infrastructure. The company said Microsoft used its popular Windows Server and Office products to make it difficult for customers to switch to competing cloud providers.

A Microsoft spokesperson said at the time that the company was confident the European Commission would dismiss Google’s complaint.

“Microsoft settled amicably similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, even after Google hoped they would keep litigating,” the spokesperson said. “Having failed to persuade European companies, we expect Google similarly will fail to persuade the European Commission.”

In October 2024, Microsoft accused Google of running “shadow campaigns” in the EU to discredit Microsoft’s practices, particularly in the cloud services sector.