Bill Gates doesn’t get the fuss everyone’s making over Google’s recent threat to stop censoring search results in China.

“They’ve done nothing and gotten a lot of credit for it,” Gates said Monday during a visit at The New York Times.

“What point are they making?” Mr. Gates asked. “Now, if Google ever chooses to pull out of the United States, then I’d give them credit.”

Gates’ comments come just days after current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was also critical of Google’s stance. Both Gates and Ballmer pointed out that many countries have questionable laws and policies.

Lest Sergey Brin and Larry Page are losing sleep over these verbal jabs, let’s point out that Gates also defended Google when asked if he considered them a monopoly: “I wouldn’t call anyone a monopolist.”

Related Topics: Google: Business Issues | Google: Critics | Legal: Censorship | Search Engines: China Search Engines

About The Author: Matt McGee is Search Engine Land's Executive News Editor, responsible for overseeing our daily news coverage. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. See more articles by Matt McGee