French antitrust watchdog dismisses complaint filed against Microsoft

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

PARIS :French antitrust watchdog on Thursday dismissed a complaint filed against Microsoft by local search engine Qwant which accused the U.S. company of abusing its dominant position.

The Autorite de la Concurrence, as the watchdog is known, said Qwant failed to bring elements sufficiently convincing to sustain its claims and also declined to enforce the interim action against Microsoft requested by Qwant.

Qwant, which has historically relied on Microsoft's Bing platform to deliver search and news results, last month said that it expected its complaint to be dismissed and that it would challenge it in court or take it to other authorities.

The U.S. tech company welcomed the ruling. "We agree with the decision and remain committed to providing high-quality search services and fostering innovation for consumers and partners in France and across Europe," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.


This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners.
Loading

Qwant had alleged Microsoft imposed exclusivity restrictions on Qwant in search results and search advertising, hampering the latter's ability to develop its own search engine and its own artificial intelligence. The French company also alleged Microsoft favoured itself in allocating search advertising.

Microsoft is a major player in the search-engine syndication sector, where it provides search results to smaller European rivals besides Qwant, such as Ecosia, DuckDuckGo and Lilo.

Qwant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Newsletter

Week in Review

Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review

Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here