Microsoft and Google’s battle continues to wage on, in fact if anything, it continues to heat up despite the fact that Microsoft might not be putting all of its effort behind the Scroogled campaign at this point.
So what’s the evidence of the war? Most of the fighting is done behind closed doors, but rumors seem to indicate just two new moves by Google and Microsoft that show their rivalry is far from over.
Google May Have Had a Role in the EU Fining of Microsoft
You might have heard that Microsoft is now paying 732 million as a fine for disobeying an anti-trust order. Interestingly enough, a post at Financial Times alleges that Google and Opera might have both had a role in this – even if just a minor part.
Supposedly, Google and Opera both tipped the EU off about the absent browser ballet and that Google/Opera informally pinged the EU to let them know of the violation.
Opera has commented that they are happy to see the EU is holding firm to their agreement with Microsoft, but Google has yet to comment.
Of course this is more or less “just business” that signs of a true rivalry or war between Microsoft and Google.
Microsoft is supporting Massachusetts legislation that could restrict Google
There is a new bill that was first introduced in January and is aimed at keeping companies who provide cloud-based services to public schools from using information generated by students for commercial purposes like ads. This bill is largely aimed at Google.
Google does have a suite of software aimed at schools already, though its version of Gmail does have the feature that uses email keywords to generate ads turned off by default.
Not surprisingly, Microsoft is directly supporting the bill as an extension of their “Scroogled” campaign that aims to shed light on Google’s privacy practices.
Although Google claims that ads aren’t being generated and displayed by students, Microsoft seems to suggest that doesn’t mean Google isn’t inappropriately doing things with their data. In a
Microsoft spokesperson’s own words:
“Just because ads are not being displayed to students, it doesn’t mean something else isn’t being done with the data.”
What do you think of Microsoft and Google’s relationship as of late? Will it ever improve or is it just the nature of their business? Additionally, do you believe that Google might have tipped off the EU or do you feel that they probably had little to do with it? Share your thoughts below.
