Microsoft and Google have agreed to withdraw all regulatory complaints against each other, and take steps to short-circuit any disputes in the future.
In a high-profile truce between the two longtime rivals, the companies confirmed Friday that they will try to work out differences with one another before voicing their complaints with regulators. The news was first reported by Re/code. In a statement to GeekWire, Microsoft said the decision reflects its “changing legal priorities.”
“Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. “We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers.”
This is certainly a shift from past years, when the tech giants would challenge one another on legal and regulatory issues ranging from patents to privacy. It’s also symbolic of recent leadership changes, with Satya Nadella taking over as Microsoft’s CEO in 2014 and Sundar Pichai becoming CEO of Google this past summer.
The agreement also comes as Google faces antitrust charges with European regulators over its dominance of the Android market. Microsoft, meanwhile, recently dropped membership of two groups — FairSearch and ICOMP — that support antitrust charges against Google’s search business. The two companies also reached a wide-ranging legal settlement this past September after years of wrangling over Google’s Chrome and Android technologies.
