Bonum Certa Men Certa

On the Web, Microsoft Loves Hiding

"Government is the shadow cast by business over society."--John Dewey (1859-1952)

Summary: Microsoft is building coalitions to compete on the Web against Google and some of this includes frivolous legal action

IF A SUGGESTION is made that -- somewhat sarcastically speaking -- "Microsoft is everywhere", a lot of evidence becomes necessary. Consider what a government delegate once said. If Microsoft was a political party or militant motion, then it would be an idealogical movement like democracy or communism. It strives to ensure that surrounding parties pick its side and a few years ago it gave money to Facebook. Well, now more than ever it's confirmed that Microsoft tried swallowing Facebook as a whole.. Since we wrote about it before it has been possible to explain Facebook's pro-Microsoft leanings (Facebook is like Hotmail with different branding). Microsoft is also hiding behind Yahoo! after taking over from the inside, so many people who think they use Yahoo! search actually use Microsoft. Is Microsoft hiding its own presence from the public? Jason sure thinks so:



The funny thing I noticed: “Microsoft” is never mentioned. It’s all copy about a “decision engine” or a “next-generation search engine” or similar, but it’s been about a week or so and you’d never know by listening that Bing was from Microsoft.


Microsoft is also operating some anti-Google entities like iCOMP, which TechSpot has just written this new article about:

For the last three years, Microsoft has been funding the Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (ICOMP), which has been pointing out Google's dominance in search to regulators and journalists, according to The Telegraph. Microsoft is ICOMP's sole sponsor and the software giant is responsible for picking ICOMP's directors. ICOMP helped push the EU to launch an investigation into Google last month. It all began in 2007, when Microsoft and the PR agency Burson-Marsteller formed ICOMP to fight against Google's acquisition of DoubleClick for $3.1 billion.

"ICOMP's mission is to promote widespread support for principles that are essential to a healthy online environment," says the organization's mission statement. "Key goals are to encourage competition, transparency, data privacy and respect for intellectual property protection as well as well as the adoption of best practices to promote creativity, innovation, safety and trust. ICOMP’s overall objective is the sustainable growth of the Internet consistent with the rule of law."


Microsoft has been using government connections and it is already lobbying by proxy regarding the likes of ITA [1, 2], which Microsoft boosters help demystify:

Microsoft has joined a coalition consisting primarily of travel sites that is lobbying to block Google’s pending acquisition of ITA Software.

FairSearch.org announced on December 13 that Microsoft, Foundem, Level…com, and ZUJI joined the group. Existing FairSearch.org members include Expedia.com, Hotwire, TripAdvisor, Farelogix, Kayak and Sabre Holdings.


Mary Jo Microsoft ought to explain that many of these motions against Google are Microsoft coalitions and the same tricks are being used against IBM right now. The one to be portrayed negatively here (for market distortion) is Microsoft, and neither Google nor IBM.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Azure is Turning 17 This Year, Still Losing Money and Staff
Hallmark of pyramid schemes, deriving "value" out of things that do not really exist?
Richard Stallman on RISC-V and Free Hardware
Invidious is under attack by Google
IDG 'Reviews' of GNU/Linux Now Contain LLM Slop
It's typically ads or commercials... or sometimes spin disguised as news
In Gopher and Gemini Protocol People Abandon Services Based in the United States
There's no resistance whatsoever
Python and Microsoft: Pandas Should Have Known OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Microsoft Excel Are Different and Competing Things
now we're meant to think that in order to open ODF files we need some functions with "Excel" in their name
Not Only Windows, Surface, and "Hey Hi" PCs; Microsoft's Hardware Ventures Are a Dumpster Fire; HoloLens Mixed Reality Hardware Now Axed Altogether and Staff is Miserable
Microsoft is in a terrible state
Links 15/02/2025: University Price Hikes and Copyright Action Against Slop Companies
Links for the day
Slopwatch: All Those New 'Articles' Are Fake and Crafted by Chatbots (LLM Slop)
Google News is promoting these as "Linux" news; they're not even made by humans
 
Alex Oliva, the Potential 'Successor' of RMS, Has a New Web Site
More freedom for Alex Oliva
Gemini Links 15/02/2025: On Autistic People, AuraGem Over HTTPS
Links for the day
The Cyber Show (C|S) Speaks of the "Rise of the Nerd Reich."
This 'Valentine Episode' is quite good
Strong Momentum for the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as Winter Approaches Its End in Boston or in the Northern Hemisphere
FSF's founder, Richard Stallman, gives another talk in Italy in 9 days from now
The 'Drunken Plagiarists' Are Harming Journalism About GNU/Linux
They lessen the incentive to do real journalism abut GNU/Linux
Female Nazis and racist Swiss women
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 15/02/2025: Erasing of American Science and Tesla SLAPPing Critics
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/02/2025: Spectacles and "Before Sunset", Moving Domains Out of the US
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Only $17,482 Million Left, "Cash on Hand" Sank 40 Billion Dollars in 2 Years
Microsoft runs low on money in the bank
YouTube Layoffs Mean That YouTube is Still Losing a Lot of Money (Net Income or Profit Almost Definitely Negative)
In more recent years Google defunded many vloggers
Certificate Authority (CA) Let's Encrypt Now Down to TEN (0.3% of the Whole) in Geminispace
The number of capsules that use Let's Encrypt is, according to Lupa, about to fall to single-digit figures
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 14, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, February 14, 2025
Gemini Links 14/02/2025: Mysterious Friend and "Eight by Eight"
Links for the day
They Will Never Leave Linus Torvalds Alone, Rust is Just Another Way to Cause Instability and Infighting in Linux
We already identified the Rust "community" as troublemakers more than 5 years ago and we wrote about the evidence
Apple: Social Justice or Social Nationalism?
Remember to buy Apple, folks
Links 14/02/2025: Mass Layoffs at Sophos, Chatbots Failing Very Badly, "DOGE as a National Cyberattack"
Links for the day
Moving Away From Certificate Authorities (CAs) Like Let's Encrypt Means Taking Away From the US Government the Power to 'Censor' Sites by Revoking Certificates
Gemini capsule is cheap to run and easy (easier than a Web site) to maintain. More people disillusioned and frustrated with social control media flock to it.
BetaNews' Managing Editor Wayne William Took Charge of GNU/Linux Articles and His Articles Are Real (He Actually Wrote Them)
We are frankly relieved to see that Wayne William recognised the problem and did something about it
Links 14/02/2025: Publicity Rights Violated (ByteDance), Bribes to Trump Passed via Social Control Media 'Settlements' Again
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/02/2025: Constitution, Cosmic DE, and More
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles Published by Bots, Dominating Google News
So a lot of the Web is Microsoft chatbot-generated anti-Linux FUD
Links 14/02/2025: Measles Outbreak in Texas, Zelensky Warns Russia Will Attack a NATO Country
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, February 13, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, February 13, 2025
Gemini Links 13/02/2025: gwit and Restart
Links for the day
Links 13/02/2025: Algorithm Bots and 'Teleport' Breakthrough
Links for the day
EPO Staff Representatives Confront the President Who Says 'F--king' in Front of Female Workers Over Measurable Discrimination Against Female Colleagues
Central Staff Committee versus Lukashenko's sponsor
IBM Layoffs in 'RTO' Clothing Reported by Thomas Claburn
This "hey hi" (AI) nonsense is just a go-to excuse that IBM and GAFAM (and many others) use
Still Waiting for the EU to Abolish the Illegal and Unconstitutional Court Linked to EPO Corruption and Lobbyism by the Patent Litigation Industry
Sadly, all the blogs that used to talk about those issues have been infiltrated and then completely hijacked by the very perpetrators of the illegality
Social Engineering of the Free Software Movement is a Corporate Takeover With Code of Conduct (CoC) to Drive Out or Expel Dissent
Richard Stallman (RMS) covered "cancel culture"
Links 13/02/2025: Mass Layoffs at Google (Disguised as "Buyouts"), Telecoms Price Hikes as Collusion/Price-Fixing
Links for the day
[Video] Richard Stallman Questions and Answers Session in Google's YouTube or Invidious
From last night
Gemini Links 13/02/2025: Broken Watches and Naming Types
Links for the day
Corrupt Bill Gates Worming His Way Into Richard Stallman Videos in Google's YouTube
Reputation laundering riding other people's names?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, February 12, 2025