France Probes Microsoft Over Alleged Bing Access Restrictions

France’s competition watchdog has launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft over allegations that the tech giant is restricting access to Bing’s search results for smaller competitors.

The probe seeks to determine whether Microsoft has abused its market position by providing inferior search results to alternative search engines that rely on Bing’s technology.

According to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters, the French Autorité de la Concurrence is examining whether Microsoft’s actions violate fair competition laws in the search-engine syndication market. Smaller search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Qwant, and Ecosia depend on Bing to power their platforms, and any deliberate degradation of service could significantly impact their ability to compete.

Also Read: Microsoft unveils new Bing with ChatGPT powers  

Microsoft, which has confirmed it is cooperating with the investigation, is not currently dominant in the overall search engine market, where Google holds the largest share. However, it plays a major role in syndicating search results to third-party platforms.

This investigation is part of France’s broader crackdown on Big Tech companies. Recently, the competition authority fined Google €250 million ($258 million) over antitrust concerns and has ongoing probes into Nvidia and Apple regarding their market practices.

Although Microsoft has largely avoided major antitrust penalties in Europe in recent years, it is also under scrutiny by the European Union over whether bundling Microsoft Teams with Office 365 and Microsoft 365 distorts competition.

If the French investigation finds evidence of anti-competitive behaviour, Microsoft could face significant fines and be forced to alter its business practices to ensure fair access to search technology for its competitors.