The French antitrust body on Thursday dismissed a complaint filed against Microsoft MSFT by the local search engine Qwant, which accused the American company of abusing its dominant position.
The Autorite de la Concurrence, as the watchdog is known, said that Qwant did not provide sufficiently convincing elements to support its claims and also refused to execute the precautionary measure against Microsoft requested by Qwant.
Qwant, which has historically relied on Microsoft’s Bing platform to deliver search results and news, said last month that it expected its complaint to be dismissed and that it would challenge it in court or take it to other authorities.
The American technology company celebrated the ruling. “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 alleged that Microsoft imposed exclusivity restrictions on Qwant in search results and search advertising, hindering the latter’s ability to develop its own search engine and its own artificial intelligence. The French company also alleged that Microsoft favored itself in allocating search advertising.
Microsoft is a major player in the search engine syndication sector, where it provides search results to smaller European rivals besides Qwant, such as Ecosia, DuckDuckGo and Lilo.
Qwant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
