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France Rejects Qwant's Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft — Qwant May Appeal

The Autorité de la Concurrence dismissed Qwant's complaint that Microsoft abused a dominant position and refused to impose interim measures. Qwant, which uses Bing to supply search and news results, alleged exclusivity restrictions and preferential treatment that hindered its development, but the regulator found the evidence insufficient. Microsoft welcomed the decision, and Qwant said it may appeal or take the matter to other authorities.

09:55 PM, 11/27/2025Technology
France Rejects Qwant's Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft — Qwant May Appeal

France's competition authority, the Autorité de la Concurrence, has dismissed a complaint from French search engine Qwant alleging that Microsoft abused a dominant market position. The regulator said Qwant did not provide sufficiently persuasive evidence and declined to grant the interim measures Qwant had requested.

Qwant, which relies on Microsoft's Bing to power its search and news results, accused Microsoft of imposing exclusivity restrictions and favoring its own services in the allocation of search advertising. According to Qwant, those practices constrained its ability to develop an independent search engine and proprietary artificial intelligence capabilities.

The Autorité highlighted that Microsoft is a significant supplier in the search-engine syndication market, providing results to several smaller European rivals such as Ecosia, DuckDuckGo and Lilo.

"We agree with the decision and remain committed to providing high-quality search services and fostering innovation for consumers and partners in France and across Europe," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Qwant had signaled it expected the complaint might be dismissed and said it plans to challenge the decision either in court or with other authorities. Qwant did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the ruling.

What happens next: Qwant may pursue an appeal or seek remedies from other regulators. The case underscores tensions in the syndication market where smaller search engines depend on larger providers for core results and advertising revenue.

Sources: Inti Landauro, Foo Yun Chee. Edited by Tomasz Janowski.

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