Antitrust regulators have their sights set on Alphabet (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT). Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has a wide-ranging antitrust investigation against Microsoft.
The FTC is reviewing Microsoft’s business practices. It may find anti-competitive practices in its cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and software licensing. The FTC may not have a strong case. Alternative cloud computing offerings are widely available. For example, Amazon (AMZN) AWS is an option over Azure. For software licensing, users may get Linux for free, buy an enterprise version, or choose Apple’s operating system instead.
Microsoft’s AI does not have a monopoly. Users may buy xAI, Perplexity, Apple’s AI, or Llama from Meta Platform (META).
For Alphabet (GOOG), The Justice Department’s attempt to break up its business would create a fragmented ecosystem. While advertisers would benefit if Google’s ad-driven search engine is broken up, Users may still prefer Google for search.
Disrupting YouTube may not slow the video service’s dominance. The site is still the most popular source for content.
Alphabet cannot afford to manage a break-up when its AI business is not ready. The firm is far behind its rivals in offering a decent AI product. If regulators break up Google, the firm would not have the focus needed to catch up to ChatGPT.
