Google & Microsoft at loggerheads over latter's support for antitrust legislation

Alphabet Inc.’s Google attacked Microsoft Corp. for rallying support for legislation that would give news publishers more power to negotiate with technology platforms for payment of content. Google in a blog post on Friday said that Microsoft is engaging in "naked corporate opportunism" by appearing before Congress to back a proposal that would allow media organizations to band together to negotiate with Google and Facebook Inc. 

Google slams Microsoft over Antitrust bill 

Google's chief legal officer Kent Walker wrote, "They are reverting to their familiar playbook of attacking rivals and lobbying for regulations that benefit their own interests. They are now making self-serving claims and are even willing to break the way the open web works in an effort to undercut a rival."

This statement by Google comes ahead of a hearing Friday held by the House Antitrust bill panel that's considering legislative proposals aimed at reining in the power of Google and Facebook and fostering competition in digital markets. The committee, led by Democratic Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island, last fall released the findings of a 16-month investigation that accused tech platforms of abusing their dominance. 

Meanwhile, Microsoft is pushing lawmakers around the world to approve measures to force the tech platforms to pay news outlet for content. The software maker publicly backed a law in Australia that prompted Facebook last month to impose a news blackout on its site and has called for a similar measure in Europe.