Last Wednesday (21) Google surprised by posting his complaint on Microsoft, accusation of anti-competitive practices in the cloud computing market. In a letter sent Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the tech giant has accused Microsoft of using unfair licensing terms to “hijack customers” and take control of the cloud computing market.

The letter was sent in response to an extensive FTC request for comment regarding possible anti-competitive actions in the cloud industry. An FTC spokesperson declined to comment further on the matter.

Google singled out Microsoft in the complaint, arguing that its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products could make it difficult for the company to use anything other than Azure cloud infrastructure for its huge list of customers. Google has described Microsoft’s licensing restrictions as a “complex web” that prevents companies from diversifying their enterprise software vendors.

In addition, Google said that this control poses a significant risk to national security and cyber security. The company drew attention to successive cyberattacks using Microsoft products, including the case of SolarWinds. Both Microsoft and Google have proactive cybersecurity practices that respond to and investigate cyberthreats.

Google is involved in several lawsuits

Google is no stranger to antitrust matters. In January, the US Justice Department filed a second antitrust lawsuit against Google in just over two years, targeting its advertising business.

A previous lawsuit filed in October 2020 under the Trump administration accused Google of using its monopoly power to eliminate competition in internet search through exclusivity agreements. The case is due to go to court in September.

In addition, Google has faced three other antitrust lawsuits from groups of state attorneys general, including one involving its advertising business, which was led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In a letter sent to the FTC, Google also claimed that Oracle’s practices were harmful to customers.

“With overly complex agreements that seek to lock customers into their ecosystems.“said Google, companies such as Microsoft and Oracle”not only are they pushing customers towards a monolithic cloud model, they are also limiting choice, increasing costs for customers, and undermining growing and thriving digital ecosystems in the United States and around the world.“.

In the 1990s, Microsoft was involved in one of the most high-profile antitrust cases in US history. The company has been accused of using its desktop software dominance to lure consumers into its web browser, eliminating competition from upstarts like Netscape. The government won the case by forcing Microsoft to allow PC makers to use other companies’ browsers.

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Source: Information

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