Microsoft to file antitrust complaint against Google

In a somewhat ironic turn of events, Microsoft said Wednesday evening it will file a formal antitrust complaint against Google tomorrow with the European Commission.

Microsoft, which itself has been the subject of several antitrust probes in the United States and abroad, argues Google is engaging in anticompetitive behavior in search, online advertising, and smartphone software, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith wrote in a blog explaining the action.

"Google has done much to advance its laudable mission to 'organize the world's information,' but we're concerned by their broadening pattern of conduct--including walling off access to content and data--that is aimed at stopping anyone else from creating a competitive alternative," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in a statement.

Google representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Google has come under increased scrutiny over the past several years as it has come to dominate the Internet. Google's share of the search and search advertising markets in Europe is even higher than in the United States--around 95 percent. In contrast, Microsoft serves up about a quarter of search results in the U.S. through its Bing search engine and partnership with Yahoo, Smith said.

In February 2010, European regulators sent a letter to Google asking the company to explain how it ranks search results and advertising after complaints from European businesses such as Foundem, a price comparison site, and Ciao, another price comparison site owned by Microsoft. Those companies--Foundem in particular--have long complained that Google penalized their Web sites in search results under competitive pressure.

The Texas attorney general's office followed suit in September 2010, demanding Google turn over a broad range of internal documents as part of an antitrust review, including its formula for determining advertising rates. The office also sought information on the company's closely guarded algorithms that run its search engine and AdWords, Google's system for displaying ads with keyword search results.