Microsoft and Google have made their feud public as the tech giants face scrutiny over a hacking scandal and antitrust issues.

The open dispute has largely been driven by pressure from regulators and governments over the power both companies have in the US, according to a report by Reuters.

Apparently there has been tension between the two organisations for a while, but the dispute has become public in the past few days, when executives from both companies threw each other under the bus.

At a House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee on news, Microsoft president Brad Smith was reportedly due to hit out at Google by telling lawmakers that media organisations “use Google’s tools, operate on Google’s ad exchanges, contribute data to Google’s operations, and pay Google money,” according parts of his testimony published by Axios.

Google responded by saying that Microsoft’s “newfound interest in attacking us comes on the heels of the SolarWinds attack and at a moment when they’ve allowed tens of thousands of their customers — including government agencies in the U.S., NATO allies, banks, non-profits, telecommunications providers, public utilities, police, fire and rescue units, hospitals and, presumably, news organisations — to be actively hacked via major Microsoft vulnerabilities,” Reuters reported.

Google is facing an antitrust hearing this week over complaints about its role in media advertising revenue, while Microsoft is currently facing backlash over a global hack that saw its Microsoft Exchange servers breached, potentially impacting thousands of businesses and people.

Share Story: