Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Rima Alaily has slated Google’s efforts to sway European regulators with the launch of the Open Cloud Coalition – a group of 10 cloud companies campaigning for a fairer and more competitive cloud landscape across the UK, Europe and beyond.
Alaily criticized Google for forming an “astroturf” lobbying group, which she says is part of the company’s broader attempt to undermine its competitors.
Moreover, Alaily claimed Google has organized the group as a front to discredit Microsoft’s business practices in Europe, which recently came under fire from antitrust regulators.
Microsoft accuses Google of running “shadow campaigns”
Alaily alleged Google has recruited smaller European cloud providers as the coalition’s public face to obscure its involvement and to shift regulatory focus from its own business practices, noting that the company has gone to great lengths to appear as a secondary member of the Coalition.
The group consists of international companies like Centerprise International, Civo and Gigas, and domestic companies such as ControlPlane, DTP Group, Prolinx, Pulsant, Clairo and Room 101.
Google Cloud might be the only hyperscaler in the group, but this isn’t uncommon. CISPE, a group of cloud companies operating in Europe, only has one resident hyperscaler – AWS.
Alaily’s blog post also points to Google’s failed efforts to get CISPE members to sustain their case against Microsoft. Google reportedly offered €470 million in favor of this, but the group ultimately decided to opt for Microsoft’s settlement.
She wrote: “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.”
The blog post adds Google has attacked Microsoft through other companies previously, noting, “We understand Google is a main funder of the U.S.-based Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, which has levied attacks on our cloud computing business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the EU… Google has also attacked us on topics ranging from cybersecurity to our business in China, pitching stories to reporters, suggesting questions to congressional offices ahead of hearings, and distributing documents in major capitals around the world.”
A Google Cloud spokesperson told TechRadar Pro in an email: “We’ve been very public about our concerns with Microsoft’s cloud licensing. We and many others believe that Microsoft’s anticompetitive practices lock-in customers and create negative downstream effects that impact cybersecurity, innovation, and choice. You can read more in our many blog posts on these issues.”
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