Microsoft Faces Italy Antitrust Investigation
Italy’s antitrust authority (AGCM) opened an investigation on Friday into Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) over alleged unfair commercial practices related to price increases for its Microsoft 365 subscription service. The regulator highlighted that Microsoft integrated its artificial‑intelligence tools Copilot and Designer into the Microsoft 365 offering and automatically transferred users to a more expensive subscription tier unless they actively opted out. According to the watchdog, consumers received insufficient information to decide whether to renew their contracts, a practice the authority characterised as aggressive because it unduly limited consumers’ freedom of choice. The investigation centres on whether the lack of clear disclosure and the default upgrade mechanism breach Italy’s competition rules. The article notes that Microsoft shares rose 2.24% after the news. This report was generated with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor.