Google said Wednesday that it had filed a complaint against Microsoft at the European Commission, accusing its rival of "anticompetitive" licensing practices to force customers to use its cloud service.

Google announced Wednesday it had filed a complaint at the European Commission against Microsoft, accusing its rival of "anti-competitive" licensing

By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet unit Google filed a complaint to the European Commission on Wednesday against what it said were Microsoft's anti-competitive practices to lock customers into Microsoft's cloud platform Azure.

The search giant argues that Microsoft is abusing its market power in enterprise software to push customers to use its cloud-computing service.

Google opened up a fresh legal squabble with Microsoft Corp. over the lucrative cloud market, after it filed a complaint to the European Union’s antitrust watchdog alleging abusive conduct by the firm.

Alphabet unit Google filed a complaint to the European Commission on Wednesday against what it said were Microsoft's anti-competitive practices to lock customers into Microsoft's cloud platform Azure.

Google has filed an antitrust complaint in Brussels against Microsoft, alleging its Big Tech rival engages in unfair cloud computing practices that has led to a reduction in choice and an increase in prices.

Google pointed to 2023 study by cloud services organisation CISPE which found that European businesses and public sector bodies were paying up to $1.12 bn per year on Microsoft licensing penalties