Google weighs into EU case against Microsoft

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 25 Feb 2009 at 08:01

Google is applying to join the EU's antitrust case against Microsoft, in which the software giant stands accused of unfairly tying its browser to Windows.

The case stemmed from a complaint by browser minnow Opera, which claimed Microsoft's bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows was harming competition.

Google, which last year launched its own Chrome browser, is making the same case. "Google believes that the browser market is still largely uncompetitive, which holds back innovation for users," the company's vice president of product management, Sundar Pichai, claims on the Google Public Policy blog.

"This is because Internet Explorer is tied to Microsoft's dominant computer operating system, giving it an unfair advantage over other browsers."

Google claims you need look no further than the mobile phone market for proof of Microsoft's guilt. "Compare this to the mobile market, where Microsoft cannot tie Internet Explorer to a dominant operating system, and its browser therefore has a much lower usage."

This argument is, at best, disingenuous. The mobile version of Internet Explorer is still bundled with Windows Mobile devices - in the same way as Apple bundles Safari and Google includes a WebKit browser with Android. The fact that Internet Explorer Mobile isn't dominant is a reflection of Windows Mobile's market share, not that bundling necessarily harms competition.

Nevertheless, Google claims it has a case to put to the EU. "We believe that we can contribute to this debate," Pichai adds. "We learned a lot from launching our own Google Chrome browser last year and are hoping that Google's perspective will be useful as the European Commission evaluates remedies to improve the user experience and offer consumers real choices."

It has been suggested that the EU could force Microsoft to bundle rival browsers with Windows as part of its punishment. Google says it would like to have an input into potential remedies, too. "Of course creating a remedy that helps solve one problem without creating other unintended consequences isn't easy - but the more voices there are in the conversation the greater the chances of success," Pichai claims.