Three news to start your week: July 1
Microsoft hit with EU antitrust charges over Teams
(The Wall Street Journal)
The European Union has accused Microsoft of committing antitrust violations by packaging its Teams collaboration tool with Office 365 and Microsoft 365. The European Commission, responsible for antitrust matters within the bloc, stated that it informed Microsoft of its initial findings, which indicate that the company violated antitrust regulations by linking Teams to popular productivity offerings such as Microsoft Word and Excel. The commission argued that Microsoft may have given Teams an unfair advantage by not allowing customers to choose whether or not they wanted access to the software when subscribing to other products.
According to the commission, Microsoft's changes last year regarding the distribution of Teams were insufficient to address the concerns regarding competition. Additionally, the commission expressed concerns about the level of integration allowed for rival collaboration tools with Microsoft's other products.
Apple, first company charged under new EU Competition Law
(The New York Times)
According to regulators, Apple is enforcing unfair limitations on application developers for its App Store, which goes against a recent European Union law designed to promote competition within the technology industry. This violation of the Digital Markets Act has made Apple the first company to be charged under this legislation, granting European regulators extensive power to compel major "online gatekeepers" to revise their business practices.
These charges indicate that the European Union, already renowned for its robust regulation of the technology sector, intends to escalate its efforts. Alongside Apple, investigations under the new competition rules were initiated against Amazon, Google, and Meta, while TikTok and X are facing probes under separate legislation focused on compelling internet companies to combat illegal content more rigorously on their platforms.
Two Adidas employees out in China corruption probe
(CNN)
Two employees have departed from Adidas in the wake of the German sportswear brand's ongoing probe into allegations of corruption in China. Last week, Adidas announced an investigation into "compliance violations" in China, a crucial market for its sportswear, following reports by Chinese state media that the company's executives in the country were implicated in embezzling millions of euros and receiving substantial kickbacks.
"While Adidas is investigating this matter together with independent external advisers, evidence has been found that in the interaction with local vendors, one employee violated the company's code of conduct," stated Claudia Lange, head of media relations at the apparel giant, in a statement.
