Google believes Microsoft is objecting because it regards Google as a threat to Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing and Office productivity businesses. It seemed to be happening when Bing’s capabilities caught up with an existing Google search feature, said Rik van der Kooi, vice president of Microsoft Advertising. He estimates Google’s moves in ad tech are costing the software maker hundreds of millions in ad revenue every year. The U.S. Justice Department is accelerating a probe into Google’s ad market practices, according to people familiar with the matter. Microsoft said Google’s public conduct there showed a similar intransigence to what it had seen more quietly over the ad tech dispute.

Source: Hindustan Times June 30, 2021 12:56 UTC