Google hints at Microsoft involvement in antitrust suit
Google has confirmed it is being investigated by Texan officials over antitrust concerns. But, not for the first time, the company has pointed to Microsoft links to the complaints.
The investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office appears to be centered on the way it ranks sites, particularly those from companies that could be seen as rivals. Specifically Google has been asked to provide details about Foundem, SourceTool and myTriggers, which certainly implies those firms may have raised complaints.
Google’s deputy general counsel Don Harrison makes the general point that “Given that not every website can be at the top of the results, or even appear on the first page of our results, it’s unsurprising that some less relevant, lower quality websites will be unhappy with their ranking” and suggests the complaints are invalid: he says myTriggers suffered a drop in traffic through its own technical issues, while the other two sites are correctly ranked as offering poor quality information.
Harrison also makes a point of noting Microsoft connections. He says Foundem has been supported by a group known as Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace: that group’s work is said to be carried out largely by a Microsoft-funded communications firm. Harrison then notes both SourceTool and myTriggers use a specialist antitrust law firm, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, that also has Microsoft as a major client.
This isn’t the first time such Microsoft links have been discussed: similar links were noted in previous cases, including a complaint to European authorities.
It’s notable that Harrison does not specifically accuse Microsoft of any wrongdoing, which is probably smart behavior for a lawyer. But there are clear implications: there’s no purpose bringing up complainants sharing a law firm with Microsoft unless the reader is expected to assume Microsoft is driving the complaints.
What remains to be seen is whether that’s a fair implication, if Google is simply trying to deflect attention from its own behavior, or if both are true.
Related Posts:
