Microsoft says Google running ‘shadow campaigns’ in Europe to discredit it

Microsoft (MSFT) has accused Google (GOOGL) of running “shadow campaigns” to discredit it with regulators in Europe, including organizing an “astroturf group” with European cloud providers. Microsoft lawyer Rima Alaily wrote in a blog post that Google hired a firm to recruit European cloud companies to represent the search company’s case. “This week an astroturf group organized by Google is launching,” Alaily wrote. “It is designed to discredit Microsoft with competition authorities, and policymakers and mislead the public. Google has gone through great lengths to obfuscate its involvement, funding, and control, most notably by recruiting a handful of European cloud providers, to serve as the public face of the new organization.” Alaily said Google’s tactics “go beyond creating astroturf lobbying organizations. They’re also speaking out in their own name in disingenuous ways and putting forward paid commentators to discredit us. Why? I suspect much has to do with the fact that Google is facing a reckoning. Never in the past two decades have Google’s search, digital advertising, and mobile app store monopolies faced such a concerted and determined threat as they do today. By our count, there are at least 24 antitrust investigations against Google in the leading digital markets around the world. At a time when Google should be focused on addressing legitimate questions about its business, it is instead turning its vast resources towards tearing down others. It is disappointing that, with the foundation of their business facing jeopardy, they have sought to bolster their cloud computing service – Google Cloud Platform – by attacking ours. It seems Google has two ultimate goals in its astroturfing efforts: distract from the intense regulatory scrutiny Google is facing around the world by discrediting Microsoft and tilt the regulatory landscape in favor of its cloud services rather than competing on the merits… We will continue to listen and evolve when we hear credible, legitimate, and addressable concerns, but as Google continues to demonstrate with its actions, the arguments it wants you to believe are none of these.”