UK regulator investigates Microsoft over 365 subscription practices

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into Microsoft on July 29 over the way it marketed Microsoft 365 subscription plans, focusing on whether customers were misled and whether pricing and renewal terms were clear. The probe lands on a service used by millions of consumers and businesses, with Word, Excel, Outlook and cloud-linked features sold as a recurring package rather than a one-time purchase.

The watchdog said it was looking closely at changes to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans, the consumer-facing subscriptions most likely to affect households and individual users. At issue is what customers were told when Microsoft adjusted those plans, and whether the company made the price, renewal terms and nature of the subscription clear enough for people to understand what they were agreeing to.

Microsoft has already made a series of pricing and packaging changes that help explain why regulators are paying attention. In a licensing notice dated February 16, the company said it had announced a global price and packaging update for select Microsoft 365 commercial suites and standalone components on December 4. In a public FAQ dated March 24, Microsoft said those packaging updates would start to roll out in CY26 Q3 and that customers would receive a 30-day notice in Message Center.

The UK case is not Microsoft’s only regulatory problem over the product. On June 26, Italy’s regulator also probed Microsoft over a Microsoft 365 price hike, adding another layer of scrutiny to the company’s subscription business. That matters because Microsoft has pushed deeper into recurring software sales, where the user experience turns on disclosure, auto-renewal and whether changes are explained before the next charge lands.

For customers, the issue is practical as much as legal. Microsoft 365 sits inside work, school and home routines, so even small changes in plan structure can spread across large numbers of people. If the CMA decides the disclosures were not clear enough, the pressure could extend well beyond one product and force a wider rethink of how major software companies present recurring charges, package updates and renewal terms in the UK and beyond.

The investigation had no final finding and remained at an early stage. Even so, the CMA’s move put one of the world’s biggest software companies under formal scrutiny over a core part of its subscription economy.