Microsoft accuses Google of funding a proxy campaign designed to discredit it in the eyes of regulators and politicians in the European Union and beyond. a blog post Written by Rima Alaily, the company’s deputy general counsel, Microsoft alleges that the search giant has “worked hard to confuse the participation, funding and oversight” of the Open Cloud Coalition, a group of “cloud service providers, industry leaders and stakeholders.” it says it is committed to upholding “a fair, competitive and open cloud services industry in the UK and EU”.
According to Microsoft, Google hired a lobbying agency in Europe to create and manage the organization and hired “a handful” of European cloud providers to appear as the public face of the soon-to-be-launched campaign. The company says Google plans to position itself as a “backseat member” of the Open Cloud Coalition, rather than its leader and primary funder. As an example, Microsoft a employment document (PDF link) it makes no mention of the group allegedly belonging to Google. It also mentions the involvement of Nicky Steward, who wrote a complaint against Microsoft and Amazon Web Services as part of ongoing operations in the UK. antitrust investigation in the cloud services market.
“It remains to be seen what Google will offer small companies to join, whether it’s cash or discounts,” says Microsoft. It adds that one of the cloud providers that Google has approached to join the Open Cloud Coalition claims the group will target an attack on “Microsoft’s cloud computing business in the European Union and the United Kingdom.”
Engadget could not independently verify Microsoft’s claims.
“We’ve been very public about our concerns about Microsoft’s cloud licensing. We and many others believe that Microsoft’s competitive practices lock in customers and create negative downstream effects that affect cybersecurity, innovation and choice,” a Google spokesperson told Engadget and us. four separately blog writings on the matter.
As for why Google is going to extraordinary lengths to fund its astroturf campaign, Microsoft points to a recent uptick in regulatory scrutiny of the company’s search, advertising and mobile app store businesses. Microsoft estimates that Google is facing at least 24 antitrust investigations worldwide, including one by the Department of Justice. potential dissolution of the company.
“Never in the past two decades have Google’s search, digital advertising and mobile app store monopolies faced such a concerted and determined threat as today.” Alaily writes. “When Google should be focusing on solving legitimate questions about its own business, it is instead focusing its vast resources on destroying others. It is disappointing that they are trying to strengthen their cloud computing services – Google Cloud Platform – by attacking ours, while the foundation of their business is at risk.”
The accusations came after Google tried to undermine an antitrust settlement that Microsoft had negotiated with Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe (CISPE). Bloomberg in July he wrote Google offered the group 470 million euros to continue litigation against its rival, CISPE. was eventually rejected.
As digital ad revenue growth has slowed for Google in recent years, the company is increasingly turning to the cloud market to fill gaps. In 2023, Google’s cloud business failed for the first time. The division recently posted a profit of $900 million in the first quarter of this year.
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn a commission.
