Microsoft Azure's Dual Pricing Sparks Collective Lawsuit from 60,000 Businesses, Seeking £2.1 Billion in Damages
The London Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled this Tuesday that Microsoft must face a collective lawsuit initiated by nearly 60,000 UK businesses, and the case has officially entered the trial phase. The lawsuit, brought by competition lawyer Maria Luisa Stasi, seeks damages totaling £2.1 billion (approximately 19.4 billion RMB).
The core allegation of the plaintiffs is that the same Windows Server software is licensed at a lower cost on Microsoft's own Azure cloud, but is subject to a price increase when used on Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, or Alibaba Cloud.
In other words, Microsoft is effectively imposing a "platform choice tax" on corporate customers who do not use Azure, and these additional costs are passed down the line, ultimately borne by the corporate customers.
This practice of overcharging directly leads to Azure having an artificial price advantage over its competitors.
Microsoft previously attempted to prevent the case from going to trial, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to present a viable method for calculating damages and therefore the case should be dismissed.
However, the court rejected Microsoft's request for dismissal, finding that the case "has reasonable prospects of success" and allowing it to proceed as a collective lawsuit.
It is worth noting that this is not an isolated lawsuit. The UK Competition and Markets Authority found that Microsoft's licensing practices had a "materially detrimental effect" on AWS and Google, reducing competition in the cloud services market.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission is also reviewing whether Microsoft has set punitive licensing terms in its productivity suite, making it more difficult for customers to leave Azure.
Whether the court will ultimately support the plaintiffs' claims remains to be seen pending trial.