In a blog post that will be its only response, according to an email I was sent, Google fires pretty much everything it has at the Microsoft/Yahoo deal.
… Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and
illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the
Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to
establish proprietary monopolies — and then leverage its dominance into
new, adjacent markets.
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.
This hostile bid was announced on Friday so there is plenty of time for
these questions to be thoroughly addressed. We take Internet openness,
choice and innovation seriously. They are the core of our culture. We
believe that the interests of Internet users come first — and should come
first — as the merits of this proposed acquisition are examined and
alternatives explored.