Google says Microsoft stealing search with new IE7 browser

Posted May 1st 2006 8:09AM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Products and Services, Law, Competitive Strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT)

Microsoft's next-next-next gen browser, Internet Explorer 7, has a search box in the upper right corner of the browser window. It goes to Google, right? Heh. I was just testing you. No, it goes straight to MSN's search engine - where, of course, Microsoft gets all the ad revenue.

According to a New York Times article, Google is complaining about this tactic to both the U.S. Justice Department and the European Commission, insisting that it smacks of Microsoft's infamous anti-competitive practices in the '90s. Currently, MSN has an 11% share of the search market, whereas Google rocks a 49% share. (Yahoo! is at 22%, in case you're keeping track.)

None of the previous IE browsers had included default search tools, although Firefox, Opera and Safari have included them (featuring: Google, but offering a drop-down menu) for a while now. Microsoft argues that, after all, a user can change the default search engine (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who realizes the typical consumer, won't).

I'm not a fan of anti-competitive practices but... who's the monopoly here? Did someone say something about 49% of the market? That's awfully close to a majority. If the consumers don't like it, there's always Firefox, where Google still reigns supreme.

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Tags: anticompetitive practices, AnticompetitivePractices, goog, google, google search, google vs. microsoft, GoogleSearch, GoogleVs.Microsoft, ie, ie7, internet explorer, internet search, InternetExplorer, InternetSearch, microsoft, microsoft vs. google, MicrosoftVs.Google, msft, msn, msn search, MsnSearch, search, search engine, search wars, SearchEngine, SearchWars

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-01-2006 @ 9:04AM

Melvin H Chapman said...

Microsoft has as much right to a search engine as any of the others. I don't believe in anyone dictating what share of the market anyone has so long as there is competition. There's been too much squabling about exclusivity and shares of this and that. Microsoft was raped in the nineties and it shouldn't happen again. If google doesn't like it, let it do a superior job and retain it's hoggish share.

5-01-2006 @ 12:59PM

David said...

If you can change it, it's not that different than FireFox defaulting to Google - except it's Microsoft, so it must be evil I guess.

5-01-2006 @ 2:09PM

Shirley McCormick said...

Google STOLE GoTo, later Overture's, paid ad search business model. This is where Google's profit comes from. Cry me a river......google has ZERO right to complain about competition!!