French competition regulator dismisses Qwant’s antitrust complaint against Microsoft

Qwant’s antitrust complaint against Microsoft has been dismissed by French authorities after it was determined that the plaintiff failed to provide convincing evidence to support its claims. 

The French competition authority, Autorité de la Concurrence, announced on Thursday, November 27, 2025, that it has dismissed a complaint filed by Qwant against Microsoft.

Microsoft let off by French regulators

Qwant, a France-based search engine, had accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant position by imposing exclusivity restrictions that limited Qwant’s ability to offer search results and advertising independently.

The French regulator said Qwant failed to provide evidence that was convincing enough to support its claims. It also declined Qwant’s request to place a temporary injunction against Microsoft’s practices.

According to the official statement published by the Autorité, Qwant alleged that Microsoft engaged in “exclusive supply arrangements” and “tying” by only letting Qwant use Microsoft’s search results and advertising tools together. Qwant argued that this limited its ability to build its own search engine and its own AI tools.

The complaint argued that these practices created economic dependence, prevented access to advertising, and blocked Qwant’s growth. However, it was concluded by the regulator that Qwant did not show that Microsoft holds a dominant position in the relevant syndication market. Qwant also failed to show that it lacked viable alternative services.

Regulators noted that in June 2025, Qwant partnered with another search engine to launch a new syndication service using its own technology.

A spokesperson for Microsoft reaffirmed the company’s commitment to “providing high-quality search services and fostering innovation for consumers and partners in France and across Europe.”

Regulatory pressure on Big Tech

European and French regulators now scrutinize large tech firms due to their potential to leverage dominance in search result deals to influence competition. In Europe, many smaller search engines such as Ecosia, DuckDuckGo, and Lilo rely on such agreements from Microsoft or other large providers to supply backend search results.

Earlier in 2025, Qwant had threatened to take legal action if the Autorité did not impose interim measures on Microsoft, and now, with today’s ruling, Microsoft has escaped a formal regulatory investigation under French law for now.

In September 2025, the company reached a compromise with the EU after similar accusations of breaching competitive rules were made in June 2025.

Microsoft was forced to make Teams optional in its Microsoft 365/Office suites, but it escaped having to pay a hefty fine.

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