Google Wants DOJ To Continue Microsoft Antitrust Restrictions

Jun 26, 2007 at 9:09am ET by Barry Schwartz

Google seeks to extend Microsoft antitrust decree from Reuters reports that Google has asked a federal judge to lengthen the period when Microsoft’s operating system is subject to antitrust reviews in order to ensure desktop search players can remain competitive with Microsoft.

Last week, Microsoft agreed to change various ways they handled the integration of desktop search in Vista, in response to a complaint lodged by Google. However, Google remains worried that the changes won’t be fully in place before the wide-ranging "consent decree" reached between Microsoft and the US government expires this November. That decree restricts what Microsoft can do within its operating system to ensure it allows for competition.

Postscript: U.S. judge tells Google to work through Justice Department from Reuters and Judge rejects Google’s anti-Microsoft antitrust bid from News.com provide an update that the judge is currently satisfied with the agreement reached between Microsoft and the US Justice Department over desktop search and made no comment on Google’s request for the consent decree to be extended. Instead, she’s first considering whether Google has even made that request in the proper legal manner.

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.

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Lucky Lester, June 26th, 2007 at 2:14 pm ET:

And I can just see the little Google lawyers wringing their hands in the court room as they quote the classic line from the movie Wizard of Oz… “and I’ll get your little dog too!” FADE TO BLACK WITH VOICE OVER OF MANIACAL CACKLING

Paul, June 26th, 2007 at 4:10 pm ET:

Wow - so many “fights” on the search engines. I like that, bet you do, too. Now the thing I’ve been thinking about is how nice things would be if we had 10-15 big players within the search area, not just Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL. I mean, we now have the big 4, and i’d love to see other names in. There are some guys in Australia (but they’ve been already bought by Google) - I’m referring to http://www.mylivesearch.com

Are there any promises expect the brand new Ask?

Google Wants DOJ To Continue Microsoft Antitrust Restrictions

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