Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel Rima Alaili published an open letter. She said that Google has created its own lobbying organization to change social opinion and discredit the company’s cloud business in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
“It is designed to discredit Microsoft with competition authorities, and policymakers and mislead the public. Google has gone to great lengths to obfuscate its involvement, funding, and control, most notably by recruiting a handful of European cloud providers, to serve as the public face of the new organization. When the group launches, Google, we understand, will likely present itself as a backseat member rather than its leader. It remains to be seen what Google offered smaller companies to join, either in terms of cash or discounts,” Alaily wrote.
Alaily also notes that the company took such action after a failed attempt to turn the Cloud Infrastructure Service Provider in Europe (CISPE) against Microsoft, including bribing it with $500 million in cash and discounts.
After CISPE declined the offer, Google started a lobbying organization and began to engage smaller European cloud service providers. One of the organizations that received such an offer refused it and instead informed Microsoft about the whole situation.
“One of the companies approached, who ultimately declined, told us that the organization will be directed and largely funded by Google for the purpose of attacking Microsoft’s cloud computing business in the European Union and the United Kingdom,” Alaily said in a statement.
Alaily also noted that such actions by Google are also due to the fact that “never in the last two decades have Google’s monopolies in search, digital advertising and mobile app stores faced such a concerted and targeted threat as they do today.” In total, there are at least 24 antitrust investigations against the tech giant. According to Alaili, attempts to discredit Microsoft have two main goals: to divert attention from antitrust investigations and to persuade regulators to favor the company’s own cloud services.
Google also does not hide its dissatisfaction with Microsoft’s practices in the cloud business. In an emailed statement to The Verge, company spokeswoman Laura Wheeler said that the company’s anti-competitive practices are creating negative consequences.
“We’ve been very public about our concerns with Microsoft’s cloud licensing. We and many others believe that Microsoft’s anticompetitive practices lock-in customers and create negative downstream effects that impact cybersecurity, innovation, and choice. You can read more in our many blog posts on this topic,” Wheeler wrote.
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