Two giants' battle spreads! Alphabet-C accuses Microsoft Azure cloud department of anti-competitive behavior.

Nowadays, the two hottest American companies in the AI field, Alphabet-C and Microsoft, have brought their battle to the cloud business.

On Wednesday, June 21, Alphabet-C accused Microsoft of using unfair licensing terms to "lock in customers" and control the cloud computing market in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The letter was in response to the FTC's request for opinions from many companies on potential anti-competitive behavior in the cloud industry.

Alphabet-C specifically mentioned Microsoft in the letter, stating that through its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Offices products, Microsoft can make it difficult for its large customer base to use any cloud product other than Azure cloud infrastructure products. Alphabet-C described Microsoft's licensing restrictions as a "complex web" that prevents companies from diversifying their software vendors.

Alphabet-C also stated that this control implies significant potential network security risks. Alphabet-C emphasized continuous network attacks involving Microsoft products, including the SolarWinds vulnerability.

In fact, Alphabet-C itself is facing a series of antitrust charges. In January of this year, the US Department of Justice filed a second antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet-C in just over two years, targeting its cash cow advertising business.

The previous lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice was filed in October 2020, accusing Alphabet-C of using its monopoly power to cut off competition in internet search through exclusive agreements. The case is expected to be heard in September.

Alphabet-C also faces three other state-level antitrust lawsuits, including one in Texas targeting its advertising business.

In the letter to the FTC, Alphabet-C also accused Oracle's practices of being harmful to customers.

Alphabet-C stated:

Companies like Microsoft and Oracle are not only forcing customers to turn to a single cloud model, but also limiting choice, increasing costs for customers, and disrupting the growth of vibrant digital ecosystems in the United States and around the world by using overly complex agreements to try to lock customers into their ecosystems.

In the 1990s, Microsoft, which was once red-hot, was involved in one of the most famous antitrust cases in US history. The company was accused of using its dominant position in the desktop software field to push consumers towards its internet browser, stifling competition from browser companies such as Netscape. In the end, the US government won the lawsuit, forcing Microsoft to allow personal computer manufacturers to install and use other companies' browsers.