Microsoft braced for $1.25b UK antitrust lawsuit

Microsoft is facing a class-action style lawsuit in the United Kingdom worth around $1.25 billion (£1b) over allegations the tech giant overcharged companies for its Windows Server software. 

The action was brought by regulation expert Dr. Maria Luisa Stasi, and delivered to the British Competition Appeal Tribunal on Tuesday (Dec. 3). 

It concerns customers of Amazon’s AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Alibaba Cloud, with the claim they have been forced to pay higher prices to use Microsoft’s software compared to customers of its own Azure cloud offering. 

If Stasi’s case is upheld, many thousands of U.K. businesses could be in line for substantial compensation payouts, with over £1b sought.

The collective suit has been arranged on an “opt-out basis” meaning all customers and organizations involved are represented unless they express a request not to be.

It is funded by LCM Funding UK Limited, the British arm of the international dispute finance provider, Litigation Capital Management. With Dr. Stasi as the figurehead of the claim, she takes on the risk (costs) underwritten by LCM.

“It’s important if you have a company that is working closely with one of the major tech providers that they are able to deal on fair and reasonable terms”

Our CEO explains why it’s important for smaller UK #tech firms to be able to compete in #digital markets.@FT #AISummit pic.twitter.com/lR04A0ZxMz

— Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) December 2, 2024

In a statement, Stasi said: “This lawsuit aims to challenge Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior, push them to reveal exactly how much businesses in the UK have been illegally penalized, and return the money to organizations that have been unfairly overcharged.”

This case is the latest in a growing trend of competition complaints, lodged in the United Kingdom and the European Union in recent years, with a particular focus on cloud computing. 

Other tech heavyweights such as Facebook and Google have been placed under the spotlight, facing action in other cases brought forward.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority continues to probe the cloud market in Britain, but it could be years before a legal outcome, and precedent, is set.

Cloud computing is now an essential facet of modern business with most reliant on Microsoft’s services, or those of an alternate provider who may sub-license software from the US tech multinational.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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