Google versus Microsoft
Google has thrown its backing behind the European Commission’s antitrust complaint against Microsoft, in the latest salvo in the rivalry between the Internet search king and the software giant.
Sundar Pichai, Google vice president for product management, said in a post on the company blog that Google was joining the European Commission complaint against Microsoft for tying its Internet Explorer Web browser to its Windows operating system.
"We are applying to become a third party in the European Commission’s proceeding," he said. "Internet Explorer is tied to Microsoft’s dominant computer operating system, giving it an unfair advantage over other browsers."
Pichai noted that Mozilla, maker of the popular Firefox browser, had also objected to the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.
Google came out with its own browser, Chrome, last year but it has only a tiny share of the browser market, which is dominated by Internet Explorer.
"Browsers are critical to the Internet – they enable us to surf the Web, search, chat, email, watch videos, or connect to our social networks," Pichai said. "And because they are so central to every user’s Web experience, browsers are crucial to innovation online.
"Google believes that the browser market is still largely uncompetitive, which holds back innovation for users," he said.
"Greater competition will drive more innovation within browsers themselves – as well as in Web design, enabling sites to load faster and offer new kinds of interactive tools and applications," the Google vice president said.
"Google’s perspective will be useful as the European Commission evaluates remedies to improve the user experience and offer consumers real choices," he said.
"We don’t know how the Commission’s proceeding will evolve," Pichai said. "But we are confident that more competition in this space will mean greater innovation on the Web and a better user experience for people everywhere."
In Brussels, a spokesman said Tuesday that the European Commission may order Microsoft to give Windows users a clear and easy choice of Web browsers, even allowing customers to disable Internet Explorer.
"The Commission would consider ordering Microsoft to give users an objective opportunity to choose which competing Web browsers instead of, or in addition to, Internet Explorer they want to install in Windows," the spokesman said.
"Microsoft could also be ordered to technically allow the user to disable Internet Explorer code should the user choose to install a competing browser," the spokesman added.
The European Commission and Microsoft have long clashed over the US company’s practice of bundling other software such as media players into Windows.
Microsoft has until mid-March to respond to the browser charges and can request an oral hearing to state its defence.
Internet Explorer is the overwhelming market leader when it comes to Web browsers.
According to figures from January from the Internet research firm Net Applications, Internet Explorer had a total browser market share of 67.5 percent.
Firefox was next with 21.53 percent, followed by Apple’s Safari with 8.29 percent and Chrome with 1.12 percent.
The Mountain View, California-based Google and Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft have clashed on a variety of issues in the past.
Microsoft last year helped scuttle a proposed joint search advertising partnership between Google and Yahoo! which drew the scrutiny of US Justice Department antitrust regulators.
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