Google’s alert on Microsoft-Yahoo’s deal

[excerpt]To be honest, I didn’t expect this blog post by Google today. Actually, I didn’t expect a public position by Google on this deal as well.

Even if it sounds strange to me, it makes sense. In a nutshell, they are basically highlighting that both Google and Yahoo are the main players that led to Internet as it is today, based on open standards and on a user-centric view of the information.[/excerpt]

The “proprietary” and even “monopolistic” views of the big giant of the PC market, don’t really match with Yahoo neither with the values stated above. Google is even raising some important questions:

Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft — despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses — to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet? In addition, Microsoft plus Yahoo! equals an overwhelming share of instant messaging and web email accounts. And between them, the two companies operate the two most heavily trafficked portals on the Internet. Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ email, IM, and web-based services? Policymakers around the world need to ask these questions — and consumers deserve satisfying answers.

“Unfair practices“, “unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ email, IM, and web-based services?” are serious statements, that show explicit concerns by the big G related to the proposed “hostile” acquisition. It seems that the war is just beginning and that Google is trying to make aware and alerting policymakers that have to give the latest opinion to this deal.

At the end of the day, what they say make sense, but there is also a deep business problem there. This is the first real attempt to compete against Google and Google can’t surely ignore it.

google, luca filigheddu, micsoroft, yahoo