Complaint about Microsoft anti-competitive behavior - OneDrive

A coalition of EU software and cloud companies has joined Nextcloud GmbH in their official complaint to the European Commission over Microsoft's anti-competitive behavior over its OneDrive offering. Microsoft combines OneDrive, Teams and other services with Windows aggressively. This limits consumer choice and creates a barrier for other companies offering competing services.

In recent years, they have increased their market share to 66% of the EU market, while local suppliers have lost 26 to 16%. Local, more specialized sellers cannot compete "on merit", because the key to success is not a good product, but the ability to distort competition and block market access.

"This is quite similar to what Microsoft did when it destroyed competition in the browser market, stopping almost all browser innovations for over a decade. Copy a product of innovators, combine it with your own dominant product and kill their business, then stop innovating. This type of behavior is bad for the consumer, for the market and, of course, for local businesses in the EU. Together with the other members of the coalition, we call on Europe's antitrust authorities to impose a level playing field, give customers a free choice and give the competition a fair chance, "said Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud GmbH.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition exists precisely in order to prevent this type of abusive behavior and to maintain a competitive and fair market for all players. Nextcloud GmbH has filed a formal complaint with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Competition regarding Microsoft's abusive practices related to OneDrive. Nextcloud GmbH has also filed a lawsuit with the German antitrust authorities ("Bundeskartellamt") for an investigation against Microsoft and is discussing a complaint in France with members of its coalition.

Dozens of European SME organizations support these efforts to reject Big Tech and create a level playing field, supporting local (European) innovation and business.

A complete list of these companies, as well as non-profit organizations and industrial consortia can be found at https://antitrust.nextcloud.com.