Microsoft asks FTC to address alleged information leak amid reported antitrust investigation
Microsoft wants the Federal Trade Commission to examine whether the agency violated its own rules by allegedly leaking information related to a reported antitrust investigation into the Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant.
Bloomberg first reported last week that the FTC sent a demand for information to Microsoft as part of a new antitrust investigation.
But in an email to the FTC inspector general, sent Tuesday and posted publicly on LinkedIn, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel Rima Alaily said that Microsoft has not received a formal legal process from the FTC and that the company learned of the information request from the Bloomberg article.
Details in the Bloomberg story suggest that the FTC leaked information to the news outlet, Alaily wrote.
“Ironically, almost a week after telling the press about an information demand supposedly issued to Microsoft, we still cannot obtain a copy of this document from the FTC,” Alaily wrote in the email.
She added: “I ask you to investigate whether FTC management improperly leaked this confidential information to the press in violation of the agency’s ethics rules and rules of practice.”
We reached out to the FTC and a spokesperson declined to comment. A Microsoft spokesperson referred to Alaily’s email.
Alaily wrote that the Bloomberg story “appears to be consistent with an unfortunate trend over the last two years of the FTC strategically leaking nonpublic information.”
She cited a recent FTC report that noted an increasing amount of unauthorized disclosures.
“While this leak is an unfortunate development for Microsoft, it is more problematic for the integrity of the FTC’s processes,” Alaily wrote.
Other outlets including the Financial Times, New York Times, Associated Press, and The Information reported on the FTC’s new antitrust investigation into Microsoft, which reportedly focuses on various aspects of the company’s business, including cloud computing services, software licensing, and AI partnerships.
Bloomberg noted that the information demand is a “parting shot” from FTC Chair Lina Khan, and that the future of the investigation will depend on her replacement under the incoming Trump administration. Khan has led an antitrust push against tech giants, and it remains to be seen whether that will continue under a new FTC chair.
The FTC in January launched a separate inquiry into Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI.