The European Commission has informed Microsoft of its preliminary view that the company breached EU antitrust rules by tying its Teams product to its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites, potentially limiting competition in the market.

Microsoft, a global technology company, is accused of granting Teams a distribution advantage by not allowing customers to choose whether to acquire access to Teams when subscribing to their SaaS productivity applications, potentially hindering competition and innovation.

The Commission's investigation focuses on concerns that Microsoft's tying practices may have restricted competition in the market for communication and collaboration products, defending its market position and suites-centric model from competing suppliers.

The Commission's Statement of Objections does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation, and Microsoft's recent changes in distributing Teams are deemed insufficient to address the concerns raised.

The Commission's investigation was initiated following complaints by Slack Technologies, Inc, and alfaview GmbH, with the latter raising similar concerns about Teams' distribution. The investigation is ongoing, and Microsoft may face fines of up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover if found guilty of antitrust violations.