The US Federal Trade Commission has opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft, including of its software licensing and cloud computing businesses, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The probe was approved by FTC Chair Lina Khan ahead of her likely departure in January. The election of Donald Trump as US president, and the expectation he will appoint a fellow Republican with a softer approach toward business, leaves the outcome of the investigation up in the air.
The FTC is examining allegations the software giant is potentially abusing its market power in productivity software by imposing punitive licensing terms to prevent customers from moving their data from its Azure cloud service to other competitive platforms, sources confirmed earlier this month.
The FTC is also looking at practices related to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence products, the source said on Wednesday.
Microsoft declined to comment on Wednesday.
Competitors have criticized Microsoft’s practices they say keep customers locked into its cloud offering, Azure. The FTC fielded such complaints last year as it examined the cloud computing market.
NetChoice, a lobbying group that represents online companies including Amazon and Google, which compete with Microsoft in cloud computing, criticized Microsoft’s licensing policies, and its integration of AI tools into its Office and Outlook.
“Given that Microsoft is the world’s largest software company, dominating in productivity and operating systems software, the scale and consequences of its licensing decisions are extraordinary,” the group said.
Google in September complained to the European Commission about Microsoft’s practices, saying it made customers pay a 400 percent mark-up to keep running Windows Server on rival cloud computing operators, and gave them later and more limited security updates.
The FTC has demanded a broad range of detailed information from Microsoft, Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday.
The agency had already claimed jurisdiction over probes into Microsoft and OpenAI over competition in artificial intelligence, and started looking into Microsoft’s $650 million deal with AI startup Inflection AI.
Microsoft has been somewhat of an exception to US antitrust regulators’ recent campaign against allegedly anticompetitive practices at Big Tech companies.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Apple, and Amazon.com Inc. have all been accused by the US of unlawfully maintaining monopolies.
Alphabet’s Google is facing two lawsuits, including one where a judge found it unlawfully thwarted competition among online search engines.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified at Google’s trial, saying the search giant was using exclusive deals with publishers to lock up content used to train artificial intelligence.
It is unclear whether Trump will ease up on Big Tech, whose first administration launched several Big Tech probes. JD Vance, the incoming vice president, has expressed concern about the power the companies wield over public discourse.
Still, Microsoft has benefited from Trump policies in the past.
In 2019, the Pentagon awarded it a $10 billion cloud computing contract that Amazon had widely been expected to win. Amazon later alleged that Trump exerted improper pressure on military officials to steer the contract away from its Amazon Web Services unit.
Microsoft faces wide-ranging US antitrust probe
https://arab.news/4zj5v
Microsoft faces wide-ranging US antitrust probe
- Competitors complain Microsoft locks customers into its cloud service
- FTC earlier set the stage for probe into Microsoft’s role in AI market
Amputee Palestinian boy image wins World Press Photo award
- The photographer is from Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023
- The jury praised the photo’s “strong composition and attention to light” and its thought-provoking subject-matter
Amsterdam: A haunting portrait of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy who lost both arms during an Israeli attack on Gaza City won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year Award Thursday.
The picture, by Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times, depicts Mahmoud Ajjour, evacuated to Doha after an explosion severed one arm and mutilated the other last year.
“One of the most difficult things Mahmoud’s mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realization that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, ‘How will I be able to hug you’?” said Elouf.
The photographer is also from Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023. She now portrays badly wounded Palestinians based in Doha.
“This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations,” said Joumana El Zein Khoury, World Press Photo Executive Director.
The jury praised the photo’s “strong composition and attention to light” and its thought-provoking subject-matter, especially questions raised over Mahmoud’s future.
The boy is now learning to play games on his phone, write, and open doors with his feet, the jury said.
“Mahmoud’s dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child,” said the World Press Photo organizers in a statement.
The jury also selected two photos for the runner-up prize.
The first, entitled “Droughts in the Amazon” by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures and the Bertha Foundation, shows a man on a dried-up river bed in the Amazon carrying supplies to a village once accessible by boat.
The second, “Night Crossing” by John Moore shooting for Getty Images, depicts Chinese migrants huddling near a fire during a cold rainshower after crossing the US-Mexico border.
The jury sifted through 59,320 photographs from 3,778 photo journalists to select 42 prize-winning shots from around the world.
Photographers for Agence France-Presse were selected four times for a regional prize, more than any other organization.
Nairobi-based Luis Tato won in the “Stories” category for the Africa region for a selection of photos depicting Kenya’s youth uprising.
Jerome Brouillet won in the “Singles” category Asia-Pacific and Oceania for his iconic picture of surfer Gabriel Medina seemingly floating above the waves.
Clarens Siffroy won in the “Stories” category North and Central America for his coverage of the gang crisis in Haiti.
Finally, Anselmo Cunha won in the “Singles” category for South America for his photo of a Boeing 727-200 stranded at Salgado Filho International Airport in Brazil.
OpenAI is working on X-like social media network, the Verge reports
- The project remains in its early stages, with its release as a standalone application or integration into ChatGPT yet to be determined, report says
- Potential move could escalate tensions between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and X’s owner Elon Musk
LONDON: OpenAI is working on its own X-like social media network, the Verge reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
There is an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT’s image generation that has a social feed, the report said.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been privately asking outsiders for feedback about the project, which is still in early stages, according to the Verge. It is unclear whether the company plans to release the social network as a separate application or integrate it into ChatGPT, the report said.
The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The potential move could escalate tensions between Altman and billionaire Elon Musk — the owner of X and an OpenAI co-founder who left the startup in 2018 before it emerged as a front-runner in the generative artificial intelligence race.
The feud has intensified in recent months. In February, a consortium of investors led by Musk made an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid for the control of OpenAI, only to be rejected by Altman with a swift “no thank you.”
Musk had sued the ChatGPT maker and Altman last year, alleging they had abandoned OpenAI’s original goal of developing AI for the benefit of humanity — not corporate gain.
OpenAI counter-sued Musk earlier this month, accusing him of a pattern of harassment and attempting to derail its shift to a for-profit model. The two parties are set to begin a jury trial in spring next year.
An OpenAI social network could also put the company in direct competition with Facebook-owner Meta, which is reportedly working on a standalone Meta AI service. In February, Altman responded on X over media reports on Meta’s plans, saying “ok fine maybe we’ll do a social app.”
Both Meta and X have access to a massive amount of data — public content posted by users on their social media platforms — that they train their AI models on.
New report shows why brands need to invest in women’s football in Saudi Arabia
- Among fans of women’s sport in the Kingdom, 61% follow football
- 56% of female fans would think more positively about brands that sponsor the women’s game
RIYADH: New research from football media company Footballco has revealed a growing interest in opportunities for women’s football in Saudi Arabia.
The report, released recently, also provides a profile of fandom in the region and how supporters want to consume both editorial and branded content.
Footballco’s study shows that among fans of women’s sport in Saudi Arabia, 61 percent follow football, compared to 47 percent globally.
This strong interest is relatively new, with 27 percent having followed women’s football for three to five years, 40 percent for up to two years, and one third stating that they have watched more games in the past 12 months.
The growth also highlights how, despite female fans being allowed into stadiums since 2018, some still felt excluded by the sport.
Seventy-two percent said that women’s football attracts fans who previously felt excluded from the sport, while 68 percent agree that inclusion can help tackle issues in broader society.
While females have played football in Saudi Arabia for decades, the Saudi Women’s Premier League only launched in 2022, making the surge in interest even more remarkable.
This is mirrored by the relatively high proportion of fans considering themselves Super Fans (21 percent). Only the US has a bigger proportion of Super Fans, and it is larger than in both Brazil and leading European markets.
Andy Jackson, Footballco’s senior vice president for the Middle East, said that globally an “increasing interest in women’s football follows an increasing interest in female empowerment.”
This was being replicated in Saudi Arabia with also a surge in interest in football more broadly, “creating a perfect storm that’s driving growth in both men’s and women’s football.”
The research shows that fans in the Kingdom see female players as great role models, more so than in other markets.
Saudi Arabia fans believe female footballers are the second-most inspirational group of women, beaten only by entrepreneurs. Globally, female footballers appear fourth behind entrepreneurs, actors and singers.
This should encourage brands to align themselves not only with women’s football as a sport but also with the women on the pitch. This point is emphasized by 56 percent of female fans saying they would think more positively about a brand that sponsors the women’s game.
For brands already involved in women’s football or those curious about opportunities, these numbers highlight that while socially conscious activations can be popular, they also need to align with broader lifestyle and cultural themes.
Sixty-one percent of women’s football fans say that they like it when content is a mixture of lifestyle and culture, rather than focusing on only the game.
By far, the most popular medium for this content is video, with 89 percent of fans naming it as their preferred format, which includes long- and short-form, live streams and documentaries.
Yasmin El-Bizri, Middle East and North Africa strategy director for Footballco, said: “Too often women’s football content and creative can be too focused on the struggle.
“While that’s important, it’s not everything and the output still needs to entertain and engage — this especially true in Saudi, where 54 percent of fans see women’s football as fun and entertaining.”
The research goes on to show that brands cannot rely on copying what they do for the men’s game. Sixty-six percent of fans say that the women’s game should be celebrated as different and that should be reflected by the media and the brands.
The research suggests brands should look at ways to increase participation for women and girls in all areas of football. Of those surveyed, 49 percent thought growth would be best achieved through more opportunities to play, while 30 percent wanted to see women in more off-pitch roles, in both men’s and women’s football.
“What’s clear is that Saudi women’s football isn’t an opportunity for brands in the future, it’s now,” Jackson added.
“As we’ve seen in more established markets, the brands that see the greatest benefits are those that are involved early on and get recognized for their contribution to supporting the game.”
Footballco’s research is based on data collected from more than 8,000 women’s sports fans across the world, including more than 1,000 from Saudi Arabia.
Footballco is home to a global football media brand, GOAL, and the biggest Arabic-language sports website, Kooora.
Footballco also operates two dedicated Arabic women’s football brands, INDIVISA, which covers the game and culture from the grassroots, and the Gen-Z YouTube show Yalla Girl.
America’s news channel for Middle East fires staff, goes off air after funding cuts
- Chief Jeffrey Gedmin said he had given up on the US administration’s freeze lifting anytime soon
CAIRO: The head of a US-funded Arabic-language television and online news outlet that claims a 30 million-strong audience in the Middle East and North Africa terminated most staff and TV programming Saturday, accusing the Trump administration and Elon Musk of having “irresponsibly and unlawfully” cut off funding.
In notices to Alhurra news staffers about their dismissals, chief Jeffrey Gedmin said he had given up on the US administration’s freeze lifting anytime soon for the congressionally approved money for Al Hurra and its US-funded Arabic language sister organizations.
Gedmin accused Kari Lake, President Donald Trump’s appointee to the American government agency overseeing Al Hurra, Voice of America and other US-funded news programming abroad, of dodging his efforts to speak with her about the funding cutoff.
“I’m left to conclude that she is deliberately starving us of the money we need to pay you, our dedicated and hard-working staff,” Gedmin said in severance letters obtained by The Associated Press and excerpted on the website of Al Hurra’s parent company, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
Mohamed Al-Sabagh, an Egyptian journalist working at the Al Hurra news website in Dubai, told the AP that all the staff in the website and the television channel received emails terminating their contracts.
Alhurra is the latest US government-funded news outlet — after Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and others — to cut staff and services amid what the outlets say is the move by the Trump administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to withhold their congressional appropriations.
Lake, appointed to oversee the US Agency for Global Media, describes her agency as being consumed by a “giant rot” that requires the agency’s destruction and rebuilding.
The US-backed news organizations were set up starting in the Cold War between the West and Soviet Union. Their designated goal was to provide objective news about the United States and other subjects overseas, often to people under authoritarian governments without access to a free press.
The George W. Bush administration created Al Hurra in 2003, the same year his administration’s invasion of Iraq overthrew that country’s leader. Al Hurra’s journalists covered the US occupation and sectarian and extremist violence that followed, with some them dying on the job during the 2011 Arab Spring, and other political changes across the Middle East.
While Al Hurra over the years faced charges of bias from both conservatives and liberals in the United States, it was one of the few outlets in its region providing space for freedom of the press and speech.
In his note to staffers, Getmin said his organization would retain a couple of dozen staffers and a “presence” online as court battles over the cuts play out in US courts.
“It makes no sense,” Gedmin wrote, “to silence America’s voice in the Middle East.”
Lebanon’s civil war anniversary poll: Half of respondents fear conflict could return
- 63.3% favor abolishing sectarian political system for secular state model
- 42.5% report direct personal or family harm from recent conflict
BEIRUT: As Lebanon marks 50 years since the outbreak of its civil war on April 13, a new poll has revealed half of the Lebanese people questioned are worried the conflict could return amid a fragile ceasefire.
The survey, conducted jointly by Annahar newspaper and International Information, sampled 1,200 Lebanese citizens across all regions between March 25 and April 2.
It showed that 51.7 percent expressed varying degrees of concern about the war’s return, while 63.3 percent believed establishing a secular civil state by abolishing the sectarian political system represented the best path forward for the country.
A total of 42.5 percent of respondents reported direct harm to themselves or family members, including deaths or injuries (23.7 percent), property damage (19.9 percent), and forced displacement (19.5 percent).
In assessing Lebanese attitudes toward Iran’s role in Lebanon, 78.6 percent of respondents evaluated this role as negative, and 75.3 percent identified Israel as Lebanon’s primary adversary.
The survey came as Israel resumed attacks on Lebanon, claiming it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.
In a statement, Annahar’s management described the poll as an essential tool to understand present realities by examining present and past questions, noting the significant timing on the half-century mark of a conflict whose full lessons remain unlearned.
Public opinion remains deeply divided on how to characterize the war that erupted on April 13, 1975, with 40.7 percent describing it as a Lebanese civil war while 38.5 percent view it as a war for others “fought on our soil.”
A smaller segment (8.8 percent) consider it primarily a war related to Palestinian settlement issues.
Information about the war continued to be transmitted largely through personal channels, with 81.9 percent citing family and friends as their primary source of knowledge, followed by media (44.8 percent), personal experience (28.3 percent), and academic sources (13.4 percent), according to the poll.
