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The Federal Trade Commission investigation into Microsoft’s cloud and related AI and cybersecurity businesses was reported by The Associated Press in December 2024; Bloomberg reported a further investigative step in February 2026. Neither report establishes that the FTC has found a violation, filed a case, or decided what action to take. The latest reported update in the sources cited here is dated February 13, 2026, and the probe’s status after that date is unconfirmed.
What the reported FTC probe covers
On December 2, 2024, The Associated Press reported that the FTC had opened a wide-ranging investigation into Microsoft’s business practices. AP said the inquiry included Microsoft’s cloud-computing business and related AI and cybersecurity product lines. Its account relied on an unnamed person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to discuss details publicly; AP also reported that Microsoft declined to comment. Read AP’s December 2, 2024 report.
That account describes an investigation, not a public complaint or legal conclusion. It does not disclose the full scope of the FTC’s inquiry or establish that the agency concluded Microsoft broke antitrust law.
What changed in the latest reported update
Bloomberg reported on February 13, 2026, that the FTC had issued civil investigative demands to companies competing with Microsoft in business software and cloud computing. According to Bloomberg, the requests sought information about Microsoft’s licensing and other business practices. This is a reported evidence-gathering step—not a public FTC notice or finding of liability. Read Bloomberg’s February 13, 2026 report.
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The cited reports do not establish the exact scope of any demand to Microsoft, whether the inquiry remained active after February 2026, or whether the FTC later pursued enforcement. No public FTC source cited here confirms a subsequent action. The status should therefore be described as unconfirmed, rather than as an active case or a closed investigation.
Why this is not the FTC’s AI-partnership study
The FTC conducted a separate inquiry into partnerships between major technology companies and generative-AI developers. In January 2024, it issued orders under Section 6(b) to five companies involved in three partnerships: Microsoft and OpenAI, Amazon and Anthropic, and Alphabet/Google and Anthropic. The agency sought information about partnership terms, product releases and governance, competitive effects, and competition for AI resources. The FTC says Section 6(b) permits studies of market trends and business practices; that process is distinct from the reported Microsoft antitrust probe. See the FTC’s January 2024 announcement.
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A January 2025 FTC staff report said the three partnerships involved more than $20 billion in cumulative financial investment. It discussed potential effects involving computing resources, engineering talent, AI-developer switching costs, and access to sensitive technical and business information. The report characterized its work as a narrow study, not a comprehensive economic or legal analysis. The investment figure applies to all three partnerships together; it does not measure Microsoft’s reported antitrust probe or Microsoft’s partnership alone. Read the FTC staff report.
When the staff report was announced, then-FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said: “As companies rapidly deploy generative AI technologies, enforcers and policymakers must stay vigilant to guard against business strategies that undermine open markets, opportunity, and innovation.” That statement accompanied the separate partnership study; it was not an announcement of a finding in the Microsoft probe.
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How the investigations abroad differ
Other regulators have opened proceedings involving Microsoft, but they are separate cases under different authorities. Their allegations and procedural stages should not be treated as findings by the U.S. FTC.
| Regulator and jurisdiction | Process and subject | Procedural position described in the cited source |
|---|---|---|
| FTC, United States | Reported investigation involving Microsoft’s cloud business and related AI and cybersecurity products; Bloomberg later reported requests for information from competitors about business-software and cloud practices, including licensing. | Reported investigative activity; the cited sources do not establish a public finding, complaint, or status after February 13, 2026. |
| Japan Fair Trade Commission, Japan | Investigation into suspected conduct that could disadvantage cloud services competing with Azure, including alleged restrictions on using Microsoft services with rival clouds and terms that could make those combinations more expensive. | Opened March 4, 2026. The JFTC said it had not concluded whether the Antimonopoly Act was violated. JFTC announcement. |
| Competition and Markets Authority, United Kingdom | Strategic-market-status investigation into Microsoft’s business-software ecosystem. | Opened May 14, 2026. Its case page lists further evidence gathering and analysis for July through September 2026, while describing the timetable as indicative and subject to change. CMA case page. |
What consumers and businesses can—and cannot—infer
An antitrust investigation can examine business conduct without establishing that the conduct is unlawful. The reporting identifies cloud services, AI and cybersecurity products, and software licensing as areas of interest, but it does not quantify consumer harm, identify a remedy, or provide a market-share figure for the probe. The FTC’s separate AI-partnership study figures should not be used as evidence about the alleged conduct in this investigation.
For Microsoft customers, the reports alone do not announce a change to product terms, prices, or service availability. Any practical effects would depend on later findings or enforcement steps, none of which is established by the sources cited here.
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