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FTC opens antitrust investigation into Microsoft that Trump administration must continue or drop
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FTC opens antitrust investigation into Microsoft that Trump administration must continue or drop

Antitrust authorities at the Federal Trade Commission have opened a wide-ranging investigation into Microsoft’s business practices, launching a vast legal project that the new Trump administration will have to take up or abandon.

The FTC is investigating Microsoft’s cloud computing business and related product lines such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

This is the latest action in more than three years of aggressive antitrust enforcement led by FTC Chair Lina Khan, who was raised to lead the agency by President Joe Biden after he takes office, pledging stricter scrutiny of monopolistic behavior by big tech companies.

Khan’s FTC already lost an antitrust battle against Microsoft last year when a the judge refused to block its takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard for $69 billion.

The case would cut deeper into the heart of Microsoft’s business in a way the company has not experienced in the United States since its antitrust showdown with the Justice Department in the 1990s.

Bloomberg News first reported the investigation last week.

The case will only move forward if President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the FTC decides to continue the investigation and take it to court. Some analysts expect a lighter approach to the tech industry under Trump, although new Vice President JD Vance has praised Khan’s work.

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