Six months after a trade organization complained about Microsoft’s cloud computing tactics, EU antitrust investigators ask rivals what customer data they must send to the U.S. tech giant as part of their Azure cloud contracts.
Last November, Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), including Amazon (AMZN.O), claimed that Microsoft’s Oct. 1 contractual terms and other actions harmed the European cloud computing ecosystem.
The European Commission requested a list of contractual provisions forcing cloud providers to transmit user data to Microsoft in a questionnaire seen by Reuters.
“The Commission has received several complaints regarding Microsoft, including in relation to its product Azure, which we are assessing based on our standard procedures,” an EU executive spokesperson said.
The EU competition enforcer asked about the reporting frequency, timeframe, format, and if Microsoft receives the data directly or through an auditor.
Recipients had until this week to respond.
The EU watchdog wondered if Microsoft exploited the data to contact recipients’ customers.
Microsoft, fined over 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) by the EU for antitrust infractions in the past decade, declined to comment.
According to a source, it has offered CISPE a solution, and conversations are ongoing.
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