We are on right side of history: Microsoft chief Satya Nadella on Antitrust debate

American tech. companies like Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc. (parent company of Google), Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc, collectively referred to as the ‘Big Tech’, have been at the receiving end of Antitrust lawsuits in the US

The Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, has said that the American technology company gives its highest priority to the privacy of its users and internet safety. He further claimed that Microsoft is currently on the “right side of history” with regards to the Antitrust Laws.  Nadella made these remarks while talking to Bloomberg Television on the ongoing Antitrust debate in the United States.

Antitrust laws are generally meant to promote competition and ensure that no single firm forms a monopoly in the market. American tech. companies like Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc.(parent company of Google), Amazon.com Inc, and Apple Inc, collectively referred to as the ‘Big Tech’, have been at the receiving end of Antitrust lawsuits in the US. A 2020 report of a group of US congressmen had accused the tech. companies using their dominant position in the market to curtail competition and further increase their dominance.

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However, Microsoft Corporation has been spared of most of these scrutinies, with the company last being sued by the US Department of Justice(DOJ) for violation of Antitrust laws over 20 years back in May 1998. Nadella argued that Microsoft prioritized the privacy and internet safety of its users. Talking of competition, he told Bloomberg Television that the tech company welcomed all sorts of investments and mergers &  acquisitions(M&As) performed to compete against Microsoft.

The Microsoft chief also expressed his concerns over a sharp increase in the number of ransomware attacks in the US. He termed them as another real pandemic called the cyber pandemic. It may be recalled that a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline in May this year had led to a major disruption in fuel supply to the eastern coastal areas of the US.