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EU antitrust regulators quiz Microsoft’s cloud rivals over customer data

EU antitrust regulators quiz Microsoft's cloud rivals over customer data

EU antitrust regulators are questioning Microsoft’s competitors about the kind of consumer data they must send to the US tech giant as part of their Azure cloud contracts.

Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe, among whom Amazon is a member, claimed in November that Microsoft’s new contractual terms, which went into effect on October 1, along with other practises, were harming the European cloud computing ecosystem.

The European Commission asked cloud providers in a questionnaire seen by Reuters for a list of contractual terms mandating these companies to divulge information about their European clients to Microsoft.

The EU competition enforcer was interested in the frequency of reporting, the time period for which the data is needed, the structure of the reporting, and whether the information is submitted directly to Microsoft or to an auditor.

Recipients were asked if there were contractual, actual, or threatened consequences for failing to comply with these conditions, and they had until this week to respond.

The EU authority inquired whether Microsoft had used the information to directly contact the receivers’ consumers.

Microsoft despite having received more than 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in EU fines for different antitrust infractions over the preceding decade is yet to comment on the development.

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