‘Microsoft withdrew support for Fairsearch organization’

According to the site Recode, Microsoft withdrew its support for Fairsearch late last year. This is a multi-company coalition, standing up for transparency and protection of competition when it comes to online search services, especially Google’s.

Microsoft would no longer provide financial support to the organization since December, which the company had been part of for five years. Recode reports that a Microsoft employee reportedly said that the company regularly reconsiders its participation in various organizations and has now decided to leave Fairsearch. A spokesperson for the organization states that Fairsearch’s activities will nevertheless ‘continue unabated’.

In 2013, the coalition, which includes Nokia and Oracle, was still involved in a complaint against Google at the European Commission. According to Recode, the main goal of the group is therefore to oppose Google, both in the US and in the EU. Fairsearch also states on its own page that Google is abusing its monopoly on the search engine market to restrict competition. The withdrawal of support could therefore be seen as a rapprochement attempt by Microsoft, according to Recode. It could also be an indication that Microsoft has new priorities in its lobbying activities.