Reacting to Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo!, Google accused Microsoft of trying to extend its “monopolies” into the Internet space. On Friday, Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid to acquire the Internet company.
David Drummond, senior vice president of Corporate Development and chief legal officer, wrote on Google’s official blog, that the “openness of the Internet is what made Google and Yahoo! possible” and that “Microsoft’s hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions,” in that it threatens “openness and innovation.”
Drummond questioned whether Microsoft would try and use its PC software monopoly along with its new Internet foothold to “unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ e-mail, IM and Web-based services?” And he called on policy makers around the world to look into these concerns.
While Microsoft has not directly responded to Google’s accusations, the company did explain, according to Reuters, that Google was currently much closer to Internet monopoly status, with a 75% market share in the Web search department, while Yahoo! had only a 16% share and Microsoft only 3%. Microsoft also mentioned, its it offer to Yahoo!, that the two’s combined efforts could really drive innovation, especially in “emerging scenarios such as…mobile services.” Some analysts expect that Google could in part be looking to protect its investments in the mobile space.
Yahoo! has said that no decisions have yet been made regarding the unsolicited takeover offer, and that the review process “can take quite a bit of time.”