Australia Sues Microsoft For Alleged Installation Of Microsoft 365 Users

Illustration (photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Australia and its parent company, Microsoft Corporation, on suspicion of misleading some 2.7 million subscribers in Australia.

In a statement given to the Federal Court Monday, October 27, the ACCCC assessed that Microsoft failed to communicate with customers regarding subscription options and price increases after the company integrated the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Copilot assistant into the Microsoft 365 package.

ACCC alleges that since October 31, 2024, Microsoft has notified Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers with the auto-renewal feature that in order to maintain subscriptions, they should accept Copilot integration and pay more expensive or cancel subscriptions.

However, the ACCC considers the information misleading or incorrect because it turns out that there is a third option that is not disclosed, namely Microsoft 365 Personal or Family Classic Plan, which allows customers to keep using old features without Copilot at a fixed price.

"After an in-depth investigation, we will accuse the court that Microsoft intentionally did not mention the Classic Plan in its communications and hid its whereabouts, with the aim of increasing the number of subscribers on the more expensive Copilot package," said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

For information, after the Copilot integration, Microsoft 365 Personal's annual subscription price rose 45 percent, from 109 Australian dollars (Rp1.18 million) to 159 Australian dollars (Rp1.7 million), while Microsoft 365 Family's package rose 29 percent, from 139 Australian dollars (Rp1.5 million) to 179 Australian dollars (Rp1.9 million).

Microsoft is known to have sent two emails and published one blog post to notify customers of Copilot's integration and price hikes. These three forms of communication form the main basis of ACCC's lawsuit.

"We consider the two emails and one blog to be misleading because it's as if customers only have two options: accept a more expensive Copilot package or cancel subscriptions," added Cass-Gottlieb.

The ACCC confirms that all businesses are required to provide accurate information about services and prices. Otherwise, they risk violating the Australian Consumer Law (Australian Consumer Law).