Microsoft Hit by French Antitrust Probe Over Rivals’ Bing Access

Microsoft is under investigation from the French antitrust authority amid concerns the US tech giant is degrading the quality of results when smaller rivals pay to use Bing technology in their own search-engine products.  

Officials are weighing if Microsoft has abused its power in the niche market for search-engine syndication and has quizzed rival operators about their agreements, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke under condition of anonymity. 

The Paris-based watchdog wants to know whether Microsoft is unfairly dumping bad search results onto smaller engines that rely on Bing's huge reservoir of search results, the people added. The move could eventually pave the way for formal charges and a hefty fine for the Redmond, Washington-based company.      

While Microsoft doesn't have a dominant position on the market for general search engines — a position firmly occupied by Alphabet Inc.'s Google, it's a major player in the market for syndication. In the past, several smaller search engines active in Europe have relied on Bing's search results for their business, including the likes of DuckDuckGo, Qwant and Ecosia. 

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is fully cooperating with the French watchdog's probe. The authority declined to comment.  

The French regulator, led by former central banker Benoît Cœuré, has recently been ramping up its scrutiny into the behavior of some of the world's largest technology firms. Last year, it slapped Google with a EUR 250 million ($258 million or roughly Rs. 2,238 crore) fine and raised a red flag over Big Tech's foray into artificial intelligence. The agency has also been leading a far-reaching case into Nvidia Corp. for potentially abusive practices in the market for graphics processing units, and has also warned Apple over app distribution on the iPhone.            

Microsoft has largely managed to dodge serious antitrust scrutiny in Europe over recent years, apart from an ongoing EU investigation into its video conferencing software Teams, and potential distortions to competition from tying the app to its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 packages.    

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