Microsoft under scanner in Italy, as country’s regulator says: In the Authority’s view, the company failed to …

Microsoft is no stranger to regulatory friction, especially in Europe. Just days after new regulatory tussle in the United Kingdom; Microsoft is now facing regulatory trouble in Europe, in Italy to be precise. Italy’s competition watchdog has opened an investigation into claims that the software giant added AI features to Microsoft 365 and automatically moved subscribers to more expensive plans unless they opted out. The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) is investigating Microsoft Ireland Operations and Microsoft Italy over what it describes as a potentially unfair commercial practice surrounding recent Microsoft 365 subscription changes. The Italian Competition Authority’s stated concern is not the inclusion of AI itself, but whether customers were given sufficiently clear information that Copilot and Designer had arrived — and that their subscription bills will go up as a result. Microsoft has spent the past year integrating Copilot into just about everything that the company sells, from Microsoft 365 to Windows, with pricing following close behind.

What Italian regulator says in its charges against Microsoft

Authority concerned that Microsoft may have failed to make it sufficiently clear that its subscription service had been integrated with the “Copilot” and “Designer” artificial intelligence servicesThe Italian Competition Authority has launched an investigation into Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. and Microsoft S.r.l. over an unfair commercial practice relating to the information provided to consumers about the increase in the subscription price for the “Microsoft 365” service. This information appears to have been provided in a fragmented manner, without making it sufficiently clear that the subscription service had been integrated with the “Copilot” and “Designer” artificial intelligence services. Moreover, it seems that consumers were placed, by default, on a new subscription plan at a higher price, unless they exercised their right of withdrawal.In the Authority’s view, this conduct may be contrary to consumer rules, since Microsoft appears to have failed to provide consumers with sufficient information to assess the changes made to the service offered and, as a consequence, make an informed decision as to whether or not to renew their subscription. The way in which the information was communicated may also constitute an aggressive practice, as it appears to have unduly restricted consumers’ freedom of choice.

Microsoft’s business software ecosystem under probe in the UK

Italy’s probe against Microsoft comes just weeks after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a strategic market status investigation into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem. The probe, which is the fourth since the UK’s digital markets competition regime came into force last year, will determine whether Microsoft should be designated as having strategic market status, which would allow the CMA to implement interventions to support competition.CMA said it had “heard that UK customers may not always be able to effectively combine software from Microsoft with that of other providers, limiting their ability to get access to the best products at the most competitive prices.”