Nextcloud Asks EU to Stop Microsoft From Bundling OneDrive With Windows

Nextcloud has asked the European Commission to stop Microsoft from pre-installing OneDrive and Teams on Windows to give competitive services a fair chance to appeal to PC users.

“Microsoft is integrating 365 deeper and deeper in their service and software portfolio, including Windows,” Nextcloud says on a web page dedicated to its antitrust complaint against Microsoft. “OneDrive is pushed wherever users deal with file storage and Teams is a default part of Windows 11. This makes it nearly impossible to compete with their SaaS services.”

Nextcloud CEO Frank Karlitschek said in a statement: “This is quite similar to what Microsoft did when it killed competition in the browser market, stopping nearly all browser innovation for over a decade. Copy an innovators' product, bundle it with your own dominant product and kill their business, then stop innovating. This kind of behavior is bad for the consumer, for the market and, of course, for local businesses in the EU. Together with the other members of the coalition, we are asking the antitrust authorities in Europe to enforce a level playing field, giving customers a free choice and to give competition a fair chance.”

The company's push for the European Commission to intercede has attracted support from numerous European organizations and companies alike, with the list of backers including The Free Software Foundation Europe, Onlyoffice, The European Digital SME Alliance, and more. Nextcloud says this coalition has two demands for the European Union:

Nextcloud says it has filed an official complaint with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition specifically about the bundling of OneDrive with Windows. It's also asked Germany's national competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, to investigate Microsoft and says that it's “discussing a complaint in France with its coalition members” as well.

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In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said: “People expect modern operating systems to provide secure and reliable cloud storage functionality whether they’re using a computer, tablet, or phone from any provider. This enables people to access their files from multiple devices and keeps documents and photos safe if a device breaks. We make it easy for people to select and use other storage options instead of or in addition to OneDrive, and many people do.”

Editors' Note: This story was updated with comment from Microsoft.

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