In a statement to reporters, Microsoft said, “We plan to present evidence to the Japanese FTC explaining why we believe that this deal is substantially more harmful to competition than Google's deal with Yahoo in 2008 that the U.S. Department of Justice found to be illegal."
Last week Microsoft moved to condemn a proposed deal between Yahoo Japan and Google, saying it would give Google too much control over the search market in the third-largest market in the world.
Microsoft VP and Deputy General Counsel Dave Heiner, said, “If Google is permitted to proceed with its plan, it would gain nearly complete control over search and search advertising in Japan through contract, not organic growth.
“Google alone would decide what consumers in Japan will find, or not find, on the web. And Google will obtain massive amounts of data regarding the search history and web sites visited by every consumer, business and government agency that conducts web searches.”