Microsoft faces huge fine in France over allegations of unfair competition with Bing

France’s antitrust authority has launched an investigation into Microsoft, suspecting the software giant of deliberately reducing the quality of search results in the products of its smaller competitors that use Microsoft’s Bing search engine.

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The agency is investigating whether the US company used its dominant position in a niche market to stifle competition from other search engines that rely on Bing’s vast search results. The investigation could ultimately lead to formal charges and large fines for Microsoft.

While the software giant does not dominate the search engine space, where Google is a clear leader, Microsoft is still a major player. In the past, several search engines operating in Europe, such as DuckDuckGo, Qwant and Ecosia, relied on Bing for results. The regulator believes that Microsoft may have used its market position to fight off potential competitors. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is cooperating with the French regulator in the investigation.

It is noted that the French antitrust authority has recently stepped up its control over the activities of large technology companies. Last year, the regulator fined Google €250 million and also launched an investigation into Nvidia due to concerns that the company was abusing its position in the graphics accelerator market. The authority also issued a warning to Apple about its monopoly position in the iOS app distribution segment.