Brussels, Belgium - Microsoft is likely to face an antitrust investigation by the European Commission after its proposed remedies to address concerns about its bundling of its Office software with its Teams chat app were deemed insufficient.

The Commission opened an investigation into Microsoft's bundling practices in 2020 after a complaint from Salesforce-owned workspace messaging app Slack. The Commission's concerns were that Microsoft's bundling of Office with Teams gave it an unfair advantage over its competitors.

Microsoft proposed a number of remedies to address the Commission's concerns, including offering a standalone version of Teams and reducing the price of Office. However, the Commission has reportedly decided that these remedies are not sufficient to address its concerns.

The Commission is now expected to launch a full-blown antitrust investigation into Microsoft's bundling practices. If the Commission finds that Microsoft has violated EU antitrust rules, it could impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's global turnover.

The news of the potential investigation is a blow to Microsoft, which has been under increasing scrutiny from regulators around the world in recent years. In 2021, the company was fined $1.49 billion by the European Commission for abusing its dominance in the market for cloud computing services.

The potential investigation also raises concerns about the future of competition in the tech industry. Microsoft is one of the world's largest tech companies, and its bundling practices could give it an unfair advantage over its smaller rivals.

The Commission's decision to launch a full-blown antitrust investigation is a significant development, and it will be closely watched by the tech industry. The outcome of the investigation could have a major impact on the way that Microsoft does business, and it could also send a message to other tech companies about the importance of complying with EU antitrust rules.