
ACCC sues Microsoft over subscription price hike

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking legal action against Microsoft Australia for allegedly hiking subscription prices after integrating its AI assistant into Microsoft 365 plans. The consumer watchdog alleges that the tech giant told subscribers of Microsoft 365 plans that they must accept the integration of Copilot and pay higher prices for their plan to cancel their subscriptions. In the lawsuit, the ACCC stated that this message was misleading because it failed to disclose a third option, which would have allowed subscribers to retain their Microsoft 365 plans without Copilot at the previous lower price. The ACCC believes that Microsoft did not communicate plans properly with subscribers, as it was only on the page following the subscription cancellation that they were given the option to move to the Classic plan. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said this creates issues as there are few replacements for the services Microsoft provides. “We’re concerned that Microsoft’s communications denied its customers the opportunity to make informed decisions about their subscription options, which included the possibility of retaining all the features of their existing plan without Copilot and a







