Microsoft Wins Partial Arbitration Ruling in ChatGPT Antitrust Suit
A California federal judge has ruled in favor of Microsoft, allowing it to force ChatGPT users' claims into arbitration. However, the company will not be able to block a class-action lawsuit's antitrust claim against them.
The ruling, made by Judge Jacqueline Chooljian on September 28, 2026, was in response to an antitrust suit filed by ChatGPT users accusing Microsoft of forcing OpenAI to use its cloud computing services exclusively. The proposed class claimed that this move undermined the competitive market for artificial intelligence.
Microsoft successfully convinced the judge to toss the proposed class's antitrust claim, but not the arbitration claims related to it. This means that individual plaintiffs will have to take their claims to arbitration rather than pursuing a class-action lawsuit.