Microsoft is facing a lawsuit filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over the company’s subscription practices for Microsoft 365 and its integrated Copilot feature. The commission claims that Microsoft misled around 2.7 million Australian consumers and pressured them into subscribing.
According to a report published by Bleeping Computer, Microsoft designed its promotional messages for the new AI-integrated plan to appear as if it were the only available option, even though users could have stayed on their previous plans without AI features.
The company had sent notifications to users whose subscriptions had expired or who had enabled auto-renewal, informing them of a price increase. However, it failed to mention the option of remaining at the old price without AI services. This led to a wave of complaints from Australian customers, prompting the ACCC to investigate.
The commission has called for fines and penalties against Microsoft for violating Australian consumer laws and has asked the Federal Court to compensate affected customers.
The report also noted that Microsoft used the same approach globally, with only price differences between countries, suggesting that similar lawsuits could emerge elsewhere.
For its part, Microsoft stated that it values its users’ trust and has begun reviewing the legal action filed against i
