Google sues US government over Microsoft monopoly

Search engine firm claims government department is unfairly favouring software giant

Taking action: Google is suing the US government over claims it is unfairly favouring Microsoft

Google has filed a lawsuit against the US government over allegations that its cloud products have been unfairly overlooked in favour of Microsoft’s.

The company claims it was denied the opportunity to fairly pitch its Google Apps online email and collaboration tools to the US Department of the Interior (DOI).

The search engine giant claims a clause in the DOI’s request for quotation document bars proposals that do not feature tools from Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite.

Google claims this is “unduly restrictive of competition” and is suing the government in a bid to get its exclusion overturned.

It also alleges that the wording used in DOI documents is “closely aligned” with Microsoft’s product literature.

The lawsuit filing states: “This was because the DOI had defined its needs and requirements around the Microsoft products."