In a recent article published on Microsoft’s official blog, attorney Rima Aleili voiced concerns over Google’s lobbying efforts, which she described as an “astroturfing” campaign aimed at undermining Microsoft. Aleili highlighted allegations that Google offered $500 million to organizations that had previously reached an agreement with Microsoft regarding an ongoing lawsuit.
This conflict arises amidst a competitive landscape in the cloud computing market, where Microsoft and Google are in a fierce rivalry along with Amazon. In September 2024, Google escalated tensions by filing an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft with the European Union (EU).
Accompanying these legal challenges is another antitrust dispute involving Microsoft and the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), which represents various cloud service providers. Although Microsoft and CISPE settled in July 2024, Aleili claims that Google attempted to entice CISPE with the $500 million offer to continue pursuing legal actions against Microsoft. CISPE ultimately rejected this proposal and opted to support Microsoft’s settlement.
Furthermore, Google established the “Open Cloud Alliance” in the EU and UK, reportedly aimed at challenging Microsoft’s dominance in the cloud sector by backing smaller service providers.
On its end, Google is currently facing 24 antitrust investigations worldwide. In India, application developers have criticized Google’s 30% commission on app store transactions, prompting an investigation by the Indian government. In the United States, the Department of Justice has initiated a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of maintaining an illegal monopoly in the search and search advertising markets, and is even considering the option of breaking up the business.
Aleili expressed her concerns that Google’s attempts to discredit Microsoft could serve as a distraction from the significant scrutiny the company itself is undergoing. She lamented that Google had chosen to attack Microsoft during a time when it should focus on addressing concerns about its own business practices.