Microsoft has accused Google of funding a proxy campaign aimed at discrediting Google in the eyes of regulators and policymakers inside and outside the European Union. In a blog post written by Rima Alaily, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, Microsoft said that the company has gone to great lengths to obscure its involvement, funding, and control of the Open Cloud Coalition, a group of “cloud service providers and the industry.” “We have made great efforts,” he said. In ‘Leaders and Stakeholders’, the company says it is committed to advocating for a ‘fair, competitive and open cloud services industry across the UK and EU’.
According to Microsoft, Google has hired a European lobbying agency to set up and run the organization, and a “small number” of European cloud providers to appear as the public face of the soon-to-be-launched campaign. The company says Google intends to “present itself as a backseat member” of the Open Cloud Coalition, rather than its leader and major funder. As an example, Microsoft cites a recruitment document (PDF link) that makes no mention of the group’s alleged partnership with Google. It also notes the involvement of Nicky Steward, who co-authored a complaint against Microsoft and Amazon Web Services as part of the UK’s ongoing antitrust investigation into the cloud services market.
“It remains to be seen what kind of participation Google has offered to small businesses, whether in the form of cash or discounts,” Microsoft said. It added that one of the cloud providers approached by Google to join the Open Cloud Coalition claims that the company will direct the group to attack “Microsoft’s cloud computing operations in the European Union and the United Kingdom.” Ta.
Engadget was unable to independently verify Microsoft’s claims.
A Google spokesperson told Engadget: “We have been public about our concerns about Microsoft’s cloud licenses. We and many other companies believe that Microsoft’s anti-competitive conduct is locking in customers, cybersecurity, and innovation. “We believe that this is creating negative downstream effects that influence selection.” They pointed us to four separate blog posts on this issue.
Microsoft cited recent increased regulatory scrutiny of its search, advertising and mobile app store businesses as a reason for Google’s potentially unusual funding of the AstroTurf campaign. Google faces at least two dozen antitrust investigations around the world, according to Microsoft’s tally, including a Justice Department investigation into a possible breakup.
“Never in the past 20 years has Google’s search, digital advertising, and mobile app store monopolies faced such a concerted and determined threat as they do today,” Arely wrote. “When Google should be focusing on addressing legitimate questions about its own business, it is instead directing its vast resources to crushing other companies. It is unfortunate that Google sought to enhance its own cloud computing service, Google Cloud Platform, by attacking our services.”
The accusations come after Google reportedly tried to derail an antitrust settlement that Microsoft was negotiating with the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers of Europe (CISPE). In July, Bloomberg wrote that Google offered to pay the group 470 million euros to advance its case against its rivals, but that CISPE’s offer was ultimately rejected.
As revenue growth from digital advertising has slowed in recent years, Google has turned to the cloud market to fill the gap. In 2023, Google’s cloud business will reach breakeven for the first time. Most recently, the division generated $900 million in profit in the first quarter of this year.
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