Google Says Microsoft Is Driving Antitrust Review

GovTechGuy writes "On Friday we discussed news that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott opened a probe into whether Google ranks its search listings with an eye toward nicking the competition. Google suggested the concerns have a major sponsor: Microsoft. In question is whether the world's biggest search engine could be unfairly disadvantaging some companies by giving them a low ranking in free search listings and in paid ads that appear at the top of the page. That could make it tough for users to find those sites and might violate antitrust laws. Abbott's office asked for information about three companies who have publicly complained about Google, according to blog post by Don Harrison, the company's deputy general counsel. Harrison linked each of the companies to Microsoft."

Comments

Too bad Sergey

[gmhowell]

Life's a bit tougher in the big leagues, isn't it Sergey?

Most large companies are faced with various crises, even as they grow large and dominant. Get used to it. The real challenges are in the future.

Oh, and your competition won't play nice either. Them's the breaks.

BTW, was it Microsoft or Google's QQ'ing that got Chuck Schumer to act pissy about Apple's app store 'monopoly'?

Gov't killing the market system

[roman_mir]

Gov't antitrust laws are killing the market system, just as everything else it does. If gov't didn't actually participate in economy, there would've been no monopolies except in niche markets. It wouldn't be a surprise if MS was using its gov't ties to try and destroy a competitor, a la guerre, comme a la guerre, but what is this doing to the economy?

My previous comment on this was silenced, let's see how it works out this time.

Re:Gov't killing the market system

[roman_mir]

wow, you really need to stop eating gov't propaganda that much and stop assuming things about people you don't know.

Gov't is the actual reasons for having monopolies, except for DeBeers diamond cartel all monopolies outside of niche markets are gov't creations and are supported by gov't taxes, subsidies, regulations, bailouts, etc.

Event the actual antitrust law itself was first created and used for reasons that had nothing to do with monopoly power in the market and was a retaliation against a company wielding political power. Standard Oil wasn't a monopoly by the time it was broken up and even Standard Oil was helped by gov't ties to become what it was, though it was providing services at acceptable to then market prices. When it stopped, multiple competitors appeared.

cheers.

Re:Gov't killing the market system

[roman_mir]

Standard Oil had six competitors by the time it was broken up, their numbers and size was growing, however you should look at all the monopolies that gov't DID create, all of them starting from phone and energy companies, proceeding to food and banks and insurance and transportation. Bailing out monopolies with borrowed/printed/SS money, stimulating monopolies with 0% interest rates, creating monopolies in military industrial complex.

Gov't has done more harm to economy than any other entity ever, and now the economy is suffering because of gov't intervention. I know it's not the 'wisdom' here, it's unpopular and considered to be a troll etc.etc.etc. Good.

When the US gov't collapses the dollar after printing it to buy back all the t-bills that creditors will be dumping, and then US economy will be destroyed because nobody will be trading with US and US has no production capacity to maintain its own standard of living and there will be riots and shortages, and gov't will implement a policy that is any dictator's wet dream and any human right activist's worst nightmare, the point made here just may be finally understood, or maybe not, people are not really that bright at figuring out what has just happened, less so figuring out what is happening and what is about to happen.

Re:Once again Microsoft abandons innovation

[sjames]

Sure there is. They're pulling an underhanded scam to waste public resources doing their dirty work for them. The mob might use bloodier tactics but at least they buy their own bullets.

Re:Once again Microsoft abandons innovation

[ClosedSource]

"Once again Microsoft chooses to litigate instead of innovate."

A lesson they learned from Sun, IBM, Oracle, AOL and the other competitors who lobbied for the antitrust action against them.

Re:So what?

[ozmanjusri]

And yet MS's antitrust problems stemmed exactly from competitors complaining about them.

Customers too.

Oh, and from ignoring both.

Re:Confirmed on Groklaw...

[Kalriath]

If the word "Microsoft" is involved, Groklaw should always be disregarded as a credible source. Groklaw is on a bigger smear campaign against Microsoft than any Microsoft have ever been accused of.

And even on Groklaw, they're grasping at straws to somehow make "uses the same law firm" into "funding the evil smear campaign against Google". Gimme a break.