Microsoft is facing a £1 billion lawsuit in the UK over allegations of anti-competitive pricing practices in its cloud computing services.
The lawsuit claims the tech giant unfairly overcharged businesses that use rival cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud to host its widely-used Windows Server software.
The case is led by competition lawyer Maria Luisa Stasi, representing thousands of UK businesses and organizations affected by Microsoft’s pricing policies.
The lawsuit alleges that Microsoft offers cheaper licensing fees for Windows Server software on its own Azure cloud platform while charging higher fees for the same software hosted on competitors’ platforms.
This, the claim argues, forces customers to pay more when choosing alternative cloud computing solutions, effectively penalizing businesses for not using Azure.
“Put simply, Microsoft is punishing UK businesses and organisations for using Google, Amazon, and Alibaba for cloud computing by forcing them to pay more money for Windows Server.
“By doing so, Microsoft is trying to force customers into using its cloud computing service Azure and restricting competition in the sector,” Stasi stated.
Stasi further emphasized that the lawsuit seeks to expose the scale of the alleged overcharges and return the money to affected organizations.