The EU eyes up Google, Microsoft giggles a bit

The European Union is taking a hard look at Google after some complaints were filed last week. It turns out Microsoft was behind some of these which triggered an investigation -- that's really not a surprise, however, as Microsoft puts it in their official response to the action.

Complaints in competition law cases usually come from competitors. (Believe me, I know: I’ve been chief competition counsel at Microsoft since 1994, so I’ve seen plenty of competitor complaints. Novell, when current Google CEO Eric Schmidt was at the helm, was never hesitant about complaining to regulators about Microsoft. Google hasn’t been shy about raising antitrust concerns about Microsoft in the last few years, either.) -- Microsoft

In addition to complaints about Google's ad network and Google Book Search, the EU is also eyeing up Street View images. They say that Google should be required to inform people in advance before they send vehicles out to take pictures in their cities, and that Google should be required to delete unblurred photos within 6 months rather than 1 year as it stands right now.

If things go Microsoft's way, they can no longer be referenced as a "convicted monopoly" by Google without Google sounding really hypocritical.