French Regulator Dismisses Complaint Against Microsoft Over Antitrust Claims
GeokHub
Contributing Writer
PARIS, Nov. 27, 2025 — The French competition authority has rejected a complaint filed by the local search engine Qwant against Microsoft, which accused the U.S. tech giant of abusing its dominant position in the search-engine market.
According to the regulator, Qwant failed to provide convincing evidence to support its claims. Authorities also declined Qwant’s request for interim measures against Microsoft, effectively ending the case at this stage.
Qwant had alleged that Microsoft imposed exclusivity restrictions on it — limiting results and search advertising in ways that hindered Qwant’s efforts to develop its own search and AI technologies. It also accused Microsoft of favouring its own services when allocating ad space tied to search results.
In response to the ruling, Microsoft welcomed the decision, affirming its commitment to offering high-quality search services and promoting innovation for users and partners across Europe.
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What This Means for Tech Competition and Market Dynamics
The dismissal highlights the difficulty in proving abuse of dominance — especially in complex sectors like search engines and syndication. For smaller rivals like Qwant, the ruling underlines the challenges ahead: without strong, clear-cut evidence, antitrust claims against large ecosystem players face long odds.
For Microsoft and similar dominant platforms, the decision means fewer regulatory disruptions in the near term, allowing them to continue their existing search-engine partnerships and syndication strategies across Europe.
The outcome could also influence how future complaints are structured — pushing challengers to prepare more robust economic and technical evidence before lodging claims.
