Google has one less company to worry about in its ongoing antitrust investigations across the globe. Microsoft has officially withdrawn its regulatory complaints against Google, citing "changing legal priorities."
Microsoft's antitrust complaints in Europe date back to 2011 when the company filed a formal complaint with the European Commission against Google for favoring its own sites in its own search engine. The complaint also took issue with Google restricting third-party search engine access to YouTube results.
This latest move follows the easing tensions between Microsoft and Google. The software giants settled their phone and Xbox patent dispute in September 2015, where Microsoft alleged Google used its mobile phone technology without paying royalties. Google also settled with the EU in 2014 for favoring its own sites in search ranking.
"Our companies compete vigorously, but we want to do so on the merits of our products, not in legal proceedings," said a Google spokesperson speaking with Ars Technica.
Although Microsoft has withdrawn its antitrust complaints, Google still faces an investigation into its business practices. The antitrust investigation is being fought on two fronts: Google Search and Android. The complaints against Android stem from the fact that Google requires phone manufacturers to opt into Google's apps and services.
This could have huge implications for Android users if Google loses this case. For example, Android could become more fragmented than ever, relying on phone manufacturers to create and update its own software instead of using Google's services. Losing the case could also mean more expensive phones as Google won't be able to collect ad dollars if users aren't using its bundled services.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has enough problems of its own to worry about fighting Google.
