Google and Microsoft have reached an agreement to drop all pending regulatory complaints against one another across the globe. The pair has also agreed to work together in resolving their issues before protesting to regulators.
The two tech giants have been bitter rivals for years and at some point were engaged in about 20 lawsuits over a wide range of patent-related issues. Microsoft spokeswoman Jennifer Crider explained that the company decided to focus more on competing vigorously for business and for customers.
"Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities," said Crider.
Google has echoed the same sentiment. Rob Shilkin, the company's spokesman, said that the two companies compete vigorously, but want to do so on the merits of products and not in legal proceedings.
Microsoft has openly criticized Google in the past, accusing the latter for "abusing its position" as the top search provider globally. Microsoft, together with Oracle, Trip Advisor and Expedia, formed a coalition of companies and organizations that lobby against Google's dominance in the online search market. This coalition was called FairSearch and sought legal action against Google in an attempt to chip away at the latter's market dominance worldwide. These groups have accused Google of breaking antitrust rules in Europe, the United States of America, and other regions.
As an effort to call truce with Google, Microsoft has decided to leave FairSearch, as well as the Initiative For A Competitive Online Marketplace (ICOMP), another alliance pushing for a transparent and competitive global Internet market. The decision of both Microsoft and Google to end their long-standing legal and regulatory battle is being attributed to the change of executive leadership in both companies. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been vocal about his desire to collaborate with competing companies while Google's newly named CEO Sundar Pichai's vision to "drive technology as an equalizing force" may have finally found some common ground.
Google, however, is still fighting another battle against local publishers and telecom operators in Europe who have filed two formal complaints against the company. European antitrust authorities charged Google with unfairly using its Android operating system to promote its own services.
European Union's antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, said Google is abusing its dominant position by requiring some of the cellphone manufacturers to preinstall the company's services, such as Google Play, and other exclusive smartphone apps, and by offering unfair financial incentives to manufactures who would favor Google over its competition.
Google was quick to deny this allegation. In a blog post, the company's legal counsel Kent Walker said, "Google's business model keeps manufacturers' costs low and their flexibility high, while giving consumers unprecedented control of their mobile devices."
Microsoft is pivoting its legal focus on fighting for privacy regulations. Microsoft has previously commended European strict privacy laws that provide robust protections for consumer data and encryption. As Microsoft is pursuing other technology initiatives in cloud computing, such as the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, it is focusing on protecting user and corporate data to propel user adoption of their cloud services.
