Germany sours on Microsoft again, launches antitrust review
- Reference: 1680089825
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/03/29/microsoft_german_antitrust/
- Source link:
On Tuesday, Germany's Bundeskartellamt — which translates to federal cartel office — [1]announced it was evaluating whether Microsoft qualified as a company of "paramount significance." Or put another way, whether it's large enough to pose a threat to companies with fewer resources and therefore warrant closer scrutiny by regulators.
The investigation is being conducted under abuse control laws that went into effect in early 2021. These changes granted the agency the authority to prohibit large companies from engaging in certain business practices if it's determined they're likely to harm competition.
[2]
And while regulators have only just begun their probe of Microsoft's business dealings, there are a few reasons to believe the company already meets the criteria. "The existence of a digital ecosystem which extends across various markets can be an indication that a company holds such a position," the Bundeskartellamt said in a statement.
[3]
[4]
The agency pointed to the company's expansive portfolio, which spans operating systems, productivity software, cloud services, video games, and social media as examples. "In light of this, there are good reasons to examine whether Microsoft is of paramount significance for competition across markets. Such a finding would allow us to take action at an early stage and prohibit possible anticompetitive practices," Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt said in a [5]statement .
There's also the fact that Microsoft isn't the first company to attract the German watchdog's attention. Last year, the agency found with "binding effect" that both [6]Google and [7]Meta were companies of paramount significance and were thus subject to heightened scrutiny. Amazon has found itself in a similar boat, but has appealed its decision. Meanwhile, the Bundeskartellamt says it's nearing completion of an investigation into Apple.
[8]Google again accused of willfully destroying evidence in Android antitrust battle
[9]EU 'poised' to OK Microsoft's Activision biz gobble
[10]Uncle Sam to block Adobe absorption of Figma over monopoly fears
[11]Qualcomm tries to kick holes in logic behind €242M fine
In response to the German government's investigation, a Microsoft spokesperson told The Register: "As a major technology company, we are mindful of our heightened responsibility to support a healthy competitive environment. We will engage constructively with the Bundeskartellamt, as they seek to understand our role in digital markets."
However, it's worth noting that at this stage, the agency isn't looking at specific allegations of anticompetitive practices against Microsoft. Those, Germany notes, will be addressed in a separate decision made in collaboration with the European Union.
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Microsoft is, of course, no stranger to antitrust investigations and litigation. Back in the '90s, the US government sued Microsoft for its attempt to achieve an effective monopoly over the PC market. Microsoft more recently has found itself at the center of an antitrust probe in the European Union over its $69 billion [13]acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft has a torrid history with German government officials, with an [14]early noughties deal displacing its operating system on many servers in the country's ministry of the interior, while the city of [15]Munich [16]migrated 16,000 desktop PCs to the Linux operating system in 2004 . In 2017, however, Munich [17]went all-in on Windows again, closely followed by [18]Lower Saxony . ®
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[1] https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Meldung/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2023/28_03_2023_Microsoft.html
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZCRgn5I7Vk6jTLqyZQT8eAAAAJg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZCRgn5I7Vk6jTLqyZQT8eAAAAJg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZCRgn5I7Vk6jTLqyZQT8eAAAAJg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Meldung/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2023/28_03_2023_Microsoft.html
[6] https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Meldung/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2022/05_01_2022_Google_19a.html;jsessionid=1A526B31E36D472CB20ED2FDFD479ED0.1_cid362?nn=3591568
[7] https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Meldung/EN/Pressemitteilungen/2022/04_05_2022_Facebook_19a.html?nn=3591568
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/28/google_destroying_evidence_claim/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/06/microsoft_activision_eu/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/24/doj_to_block_adobe_purchase/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/14/qualcom_eu_fine_appeal/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZCRgn5I7Vk6jTLqyZQT8eAAAAJg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/06/microsoft_activision_eu/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2002/06/04/german_gov_deal_offers_linux/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2004/06/17/munich_embraces_penguin/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/29/munich_linux_savings/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2017/11/24/munich_will_spend_about_50_million_euros_on_windows_migration/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2018/07/27/lower_saxony_to_dump_linux/
[19] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: When companies get too big
-> but unless constraints are put on them we will have less & less choice and innovation will slow.
I tend to agree with a big caveat. In the Linux world where there is endless choice, but where is the real innovation? Server side, Linux is just a reimplementation of what has already been done before on UNIX and mainframes, and often with less complication. The "standard" Linux is Redhat. I am not sure that end users or customers developers want hundreds or even dozens of versions of Linux to consider. Desktop innovation? We get the horrors of Gnome 3. I would say "enough said" but I won't. We get bazillions of new themes and icon sets. We get hot news about yet another Linux distro, which is oh so different from n other distros because it does or doesn't use Snap.
Maybe MS should be broken up. Maybe there should be an OS company (maybe with a choice of desktops), and applications moved to another company. Cloud services could also be completely separate.
Re: When companies get too big
There is plenty of innovation in the Linux market place. This is what causes what you complain about, too much choice.
With desktop innovation there is much more than just Gnome3. There's plenty of alternatives, with KDE, LXDE, XFCE, Cinnamon, Mate, Unity and many, many older or more niche desktop environments.
The problem as you've pointed out, is twofold. Only the major desktops are picked up by the dominant distros (with Gnome being pushed quite hard by Red Hat). If you are trying to manage a Linux desktop rollout, you will almost certainy decide on a major distro, and probably accept the desktop they include by default, maintaining the momentum of the establishment (this is analogous to Windows dominating the desktop).
The second aspect of the problem is that the more innovative tools and environments are normally small projects, and it is very difficult for them to break into the mainstream to be noticed.
I experienced this from personal experience. IBM has (well, had, it's slowly being wound down in preference to Apple) an internal set of tools that implemented what they called their "Open Client" environment for IBMers who wanted to use Linux on their corporate systems. Initially it could be layered on top of Ubuntu, SuSE, Red Hat Enterprise and a couple of more niche distros (they've now decided on just Red Hat, can't understand why), but they shipped a heavily customised version of Gnome 3 as the standard environment.
I found this even less usable than the standard Gnome 3, so I found the options to switch back to normal Gnome. But I then had cause to call the helpdesk, which at the time would accept calls on the Open Desktop environment (although now help is only available from the internal community). But all their guides assumed the modified desktop that was shipped. They were confused, and I was so fed up that I worked out how to fix the problem myself from the pointers they gave.
So large companies need standards, just to allow them to operate. Giving users in an organization choice can never work, unless the users are self-supporting.
Re: When companies get too big
"where is the real innovation?"
Save you time comentards, when someone so blatantly closes their eyes, it's pointless trying to get them to see what they claim to be missing.
They will get let off again
As the apologists are fond of reminding us (each time), M$ are no longer the bad boys they used to be.
Re: They will get let off again
They're not the bad boys they used to be. After a brief period of apparent altruism (which was almost certainly just them changing their focus), they've adopted a whole new aspect to their 'badness'.
The problem is not really Microsoft, but more like the American capitalist system where not chasing a market dominant position can lead to the board of a company being sued by the shareholders. It almost appears to be a crime to be satisfied with having enough of the market.
Meanwhile at Oracle
[Larry Ellison] Release the license auditors! MWA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!
Maybe they're hoping Microsoft will open a very large EU office in Germany. After al it worked for Munich.
When companies get too big
They tend to squash the competition. This is bad. What can be done about it ? Break them up - maybe. Stop them getting larger by gobbling up other companies - almost certainly.
I can see that some will not like this, complain that it will lead to inefficiencies ... but unless constraints are put on them we will have less & less choice and innovation will slow.