Bonum Certa Men Certa

Attack of the Microsoft Lobbyists, Talking to House Judiciary Committee Panel About Google

ACT Microsoft



Summary: Microsoft is unleashing the lobbyists and AstroTurfers in more desperate attempts to cause Google trouble with the law

MICROSOFT has little or no legitimacy when complaining about Google. Everyone knows that they are each other's competitors. So, what does Microsoft do? It hides behind fake groups that it funds to pretend to be independent complainers.



One example of such groups is ACT, which Microsoft uses for a variety of purposes including the fight against ODF, the fight for software patents in Europe, and the fight against Google. Another group, 'Consumer' 'Watchdog', keeps AstroTurfing against Google and foolishly enough some reporters still give this group a platform.

The ice cream man video has been viewed over 330,000 times.


Then there is the ITA complaint and its connection to Microsoft was covered here earlier this month. A Microsoft booster writes about it too, perhaps not noticing the source of the this complaint against Google.

Watch the article "House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy Hearing". Someone is quoted as saying: "In addition, I have done consulting for Microsoft. My testimony today reflects my own personal views and not the views of my clients."

Or the paychecks?

People love to obscure their biases to themselves. It's a self defence of one's convictions.

In another post from the Microsoft booster which was mentioned above, "Microsoft-backed group" is the name given to another Microsoft lobbyist, Association for Competitive Technology (ACT). He ought to just say "lobbyist", which is still a euphemism and a nice word for someone who pretends to be independent but is actually just a proxy for corrupting lawmakers on behalf of a paymaster.

Look who's talking in the House Judiciary Committee panel hearing. "Microsoft-backed group issues warning on Google-ITA deal" is an understatement:

“The concern is about access to the engine and who gets the best quality result,” Morgan Reed, executive director for the Association for Competitive Technology, told a House Judiciary Committee panel hearing Thursday. Reed's group is backed by Microsoft and Orbitz, both of which rely on ITA's service to display airfares.


We have been seeing a lot of this recently, e.g. in Texas [1, 2], but Google is not blind to the source of it all. "Google suggests Texas search concerns originate with Microsoft" says The Hill (also see "Google faces more antitrust scrutiny, blames Microsoft again" and "Google hints at Microsoft involvement in antitrust suit").

Why need Microsoft be so worried about Google? For starters, it is killing the #1 cash cow. Yesterday from Forbes: "Google Apps Is Making Microsoft Poorer, Adding 1 Million Users Per Month"

This morning, Google announced that over 3 million businesses, with over 30 million employees, are using its enterprise Apps product.

[...]

Given that only a small percentage of Apps users actually pay for it, it doesn’t look like Google is going to turn enterprise into a revenue engine any time soon. But the point of Apps isn’t to make money – it’s to eat away at Microsoft’s cash cow.


Despite the misreporting/FUD which lingers on, Google Apps is also gaining some major clients. Since it's Fog Computing, it's not great news, but as Google supports ODF, it is far better than Microsoft monopoly.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Sounds Like IBM is Preparing for Mass Layoffs/Redundancies in Red Hat, Albeit in "PIP" (Performance Improvement Plan) or "Relocation" Clothing
This isn't the "old" IBM; they're applying pressure by confusion and humiliation
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Role of Language and Back to Mutt for E-mail
Links for the day
Microsoft's Attack Dogs Have Failed. Now What?
It would be utterly foolish to assume that Microsoft has any intention of changing
 
Free Software and Standards - Not Marketing Blitz - Needed Amid Growing Severity of Dependency on Hostile Suppliers (or Another Country's Sovereignty)
ZenDiS can be described as the "Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration"
When It Comes to the Web, Google is Evil and It Destroys the Web's Integrity With LLM Slop
Even academia, which is meant to keep standards high, is being lured into LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 18, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 18, 2025
Links 18/04/2025: "Fentanylware (TikTok) Exodus Continues", Chinese Weapons Allegedly in Russia Already
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Price of Games and State of Tinylog
Links for the day
"Sayonara" (さよなら), Microsoft
Windows had fallen below iOS in some countries
Links 18/04/2025: Layoffs at Microsoft Infosys and Qt Becoming Increasingly Proprietary (Plus Slop)
Links for the day
Google News is Dying
treating MElon's algorithmic/biased site as a source of verified news
All Your "Github Projects" Will be Gone One Day (Just Like Skype)
If you have code you wish to share and keep, then start learning how to do so on your own
To Understand Who's Truly Controlling You Follow the Trail of Censorship (or Self-Censorship)
Do not let media steal and steer the narrative; CoCs are not about "social justice", they're about corporate domination
Fedora Already Lost Its Soul Under IBM
Fedora used to be very strict compared to many other distros and it had attracted very bright volunteers
Microsoft is Still Attacking GNU/Linux and the Net
Microsoft bribed the government using money that did not even exist
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 17, 2025
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Pinephone Pro and Linux is too Easy
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2025: Calling Whistleblowers at Microsoft, Slop Doing More Harm Everywhere
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2025: Russian Bot Farms Infect TikTok (Which US Government and SCOTUS Decided to Block January 19), US Hardware Stocks Crash Due to Tariffs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Sticking to Free Software, Smolnet, and Counting the Reals
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: In Conclusion and Enforcement Action Proceeds Against OSI at the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
There's too much to cover in one single part
When You Fail to Filter Your Clients You End Up SLAPPing Reporters on Behalf of Bad People From Microsoft in Another Continent
“American Psycho”
Links 17/04/2025: LayoffBot and Tesla Cheats Buyers
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 16, 2025