Google claims Microsoft is hijacking lawsuits and complaints
brought by third parties to stir up antitrust sentiment against it
and pressure regulators into limiting the search giant's business
practices.
"It's become clear that our competitors are scouring court
documents around the world looking for complaints against Google
into which they can inject themselves, learn more about our
business practices, and use that information to develop a broader
antitrust complaint against us," a Google spokesperson told The
Wall Street Journal, in a story published Monday.
Google noted that a collections lawsuit it filed against a small,
Ohio-based Internet site called myTriggers.com was met with a
sophisticated antitrust countersuit. Representing myTriggers.com is
none other than Charles Rule, of the high-powered D.C. law firm
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Rule frequently acts as outside counsel for Microsoft in antitrust
matters.
Google also sees Microsoft's hand in antitrust actions in Europe,
where the European Commission last week launched a probe into
Google's dominance of online advertising on the Continent. The
probe was sparked by complaints of search-rank discrimination by
three companies—legal research firm Ejustice.fr, and online
price comparison sites Ciao and Foundem.
Microsoft acquired Ciao in 2008, while Foundem is a member of a
Microsoft-backed lobby group called Initiative for a Competitive
Online Market Place (ICOMP).
"It's no secret we share many of these concerns," a Microsoft
spokesperson conceded to WSJ.
That Google is drawing antitrust scrutiny should come as no
surprise. The company controlled 65% of the Internet search market
in the U.S. as of February, according to comScore, and its
influence is growing abroad, as well.
For its part, Google maintains its search ranking practices are
fair, and that antitrust concerns are just par for the course for
one of the world's fastest growing tech firms.
"This kind of scrutiny goes with the territory when you are a large
company," said Julia Holtz, Google's senior competition counsel, in
a blog post last week.
"However, we've always worked hard to ensure that our success is
earned the right way—through technological innovation and
great products rather than by locking in our users or advertisers,
or creating artificial barriers to entry," said Holtz.