In fairness, Microsoft has once again been aggressively subverting the third party browser options within Windows 11 to heavily favor its built-in Edge browser over others. Services is only one part of Nextcloud's complaint against Microsoft, the coalition also argues that a more nuanced investigation be undertaken as to the control over 'European computer users' ability to maintain effective control over their devices and data.' There is nothing engineered within Windows to prevent those 1.8 billion Gmail users or the 15.48 million Dropbox users from accessing their cloud services and storage or setting up these services as default first party options in Windows. While support may be mounting behind Nextcloud's motion, the reality is that it's only a cautionary request from the coalition at the moment and there is no guarantee that it will be taken up by the EU anytime soon as it currently has its hands full enforcing the recent Google violations as well as prepping an offense against Apple.Īnother issue Nextcloud and its supports may run into, is that, unlike the late 90's browser competitions, cloud services are much more abundant and readily available to users across multiple platforms and devices.Īs of 2020 there are 1.8 billion Gmail users with presumably access to Google Drive and its associated cloud services outside their use of any version of Windows. Nextcloud is joined by other competitive bodies looking to leverage the EU's more stringent consumer protection laws such as Slack, European DIGITAL SME Alliance, LibreOffice's Document Foundation and the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) as well as support from Albilian open-source publishing, DAASI and Malifence. 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 giving the competition a fair chance. This kind of behavior is bad for the consumer, for the market, and, of course, for local businesses in the EU.

Copy an innovators' product, bundle it with your own dominant product, and kill their business, then stop innovating. This is quite similar to what Microsoft did when it killed the competition in the browser market, stopping nearly all browser innovations for over a decade.

Nextcloud eu microsoft onedrive teams