Core Points - The European Commission has accepted Microsoft's proposals to address competition concerns regarding its Teams platform [1][2] - The decision resolves an antitrust investigation initiated in July 2023, focusing on whether Microsoft violated EU competition rules by tying Teams to its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites [2][5] Commitments and Changes - Microsoft's commitments include increasing the price difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites with and without Teams, ensuring that websites offering a suite with Teams also provide one without Teams, and publishing information on interoperability and data portability [3][4] - The commitments related to interoperability and portability will last for 10 years, while other commitments will be in effect for 7 years [4] Impact on Competition - The European Commission's decision aims to end Microsoft's tying practices that may hinder competition against Teams, thereby promoting a more competitive market for communication and collaboration products [5][6] - The investigation was prompted by a complaint from Slack in 2020, alleging that Microsoft violated competition law by tying Teams to its Office productivity suite [6][7]

Apple is asking a court to pause a recent decision in its case against Epic Games and allow the iPhone maker to once again charge a commission on in-app transactions that link out for payment. Prior to the ruling, Amazon's Kindle app told users they could not purchase a book in the iPhone app. After a recent update, the app now shows an orange "Get Book" button that links to Amazon's website. Epic also plans to introduce new software to allow app and game developers to easily link to their websites to take ...