Microsoft Accuses Google Of Antitrust Violations

The Microsoft Corporation will be launching an antitrust complaint against Google in Brussels Tuesday, alleging that Google is using its search engine to unfairly promote its products.

For Google this is nothing new, the European Commission has already opened an antitrust investigation against the company for that same reason back in November 2010, after several smaller companies filed the same type of complaints in February 2010. But, this is the first time that Microsoft is filing an antitrust complaint against another company.

Microsoft has fully thought out its long complaint in a lengthy blog post on the TechNet site. Within the complaint Microsoft says, that Google is unfairly limiting Windows Phone 7 phones from accessing YouTube content in the same way Android phones do, that it is seeking to block access to content owned by book publishers, and restricting its advertisers’ access to their own data.

The biggest complaint from Microsoft comes with Google making it more expensive for its competitors to have unique placement of their ads. Microsoft’s Brad Smith writes about the reasoning:

Finally, we share the concerns expressed by many others that Google discriminates against would-be competitors by making it more costly for them to attain prominent placement for their advertisements. Microsoft has provided the Commission with a considerable body of expert analysis concerning how search engine algorithms work and the competitive significance of promoting or demoting various advertisements.

Microsoft’s claim is interesting because they’ve been accused many times before for the exact same thing. But, their complaint highlights the reality, Google is the undisputed king of search in most markets of the world, especially Europe, and Microsoft is a much smaller player doing what it can to establish a better position.

Having been on the receiving end of complaints and antitrust suit in Europe. Having to pay massive amounts of fines they know how strict the rules are in Europe are.

Google will be right up there defending itself against the antitrust complaints and keep their stance. But, because they keep purchasing smaller companies and giving away products that other companies charge for it will be difficult for Google to convince them that they are in the right.