By linking its popular business software to its messaging and video conferencing app, Teams, the bloc accused Microsoft of having committed antitrust violations with the European Union through ‘possibly abusive’ activities.

The European Commission claims having informed Microsoft of its preliminary assessment that it has been ‘restricting competition’ by including Teams together with essential office productivity suites like Office 365 and Microsoft 365.

In charge of enforcing antitrust laws throughout the 27 member nations of the union, the commission stated that it believes Microsoft may have given Teams a ‘distribution advantage’ by preventing users from selecting Teams at the time of software purchase.

It believes that restrictions on rival messaging apps' compatibility with Microsoft products might have led to the increased advantage.

The commission imposed a flurry of regulatory actions that highlighted Brussels' prominent position as a watchdog over big tech companies post Apple’s violation of the bloc's new digital competition guidelines. It is believed that targeting Microsoft was part of this effort.

Last year, Microsoft made certain attempts to avoid paying the fine, including providing the software features for European customers without Teams.

Additionally, the tech giant offered clients all around the world the choice to purchase Office 365 and Microsoft 365 without Teams in April. Word, Excel, and Outlook are among the tools included in the two software packages.

However, the commission commanded for an additional work needed to be done to "restore competition" since the improvements alone will not suffice to satisfy its concerns.

Before the commission renders a final verdict, Microsoft has the opportunity to officially address the charges with a statement of objections. The company may be required to pay 'remedies' to allay competition concerns, or it may be hit with a fine equal to as much as 10 percent of its yearly worldwide income.

The prominent office messaging software maker Slack Technologies, a rival, filed a complaint with Brussels, prompting the commission to launch an investigation in July 2023. The manufacturer of video conferencing software, Alfaview, has submitted a different complaint.

Salesforce, the company that makes business software, owns Slack, which had claimed that Microsoft had violated EU legislation by abusing its market dominance to crush competition.