Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today responded positively to news that U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rebuked Google’s attempts to join the Microsoft antitrust case with the company’s complaints about the Windows Vista operating system.  The judge told Google that the company is not a party to the case and the government and Microsoft should continue its negotiations over extending the 2002 consent decree, portions of which expire in November.

Google had filed a formal complaint with the Justice Department in November 2006 claiming that Microsoft’s Vista operating system discriminated against users of Google’s search engine.  Google had petitioned the court to be made a party to the consent decree.  However, Microsoft will be making modifications to Windows Vista, addressing Google’s concerns.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly rejected Google’s Johnny-come-lately attempt to pile on and have its competitive conflicts with Microsoft adjudicated by government fiat.  Kollar-Kotelly stated that the interests of consumers are already fully represented by the plaintiffs in the case (the U.S. Justice Department, 16 state attorneys general, and the District of Columbia).  After the hearing, Google’s lobbyist admitted that the changes made by Microsoft “will provide consumers more choices than existed before,” raising the question as to why Google was wasting the court’s time and the taxpayer’s money complaining to Judge Kollar-Kotelly.

“Some big corporate players in the tech sector still don’t want to have to slug it out in a highly competitive marketplace, so they run to the government looking for remedies.  Google’s complaint has been addressed and the company should not be seeking to involve the federal bureaucracy any further in its market skirmishes with competitors,” said CAGW President Thomas A. Schatz.  “We are pleased that Judge Kollar-Kotelly had the foresight to leave well enough alone, let the consent decree negotiations move forward, and let these two very capable tech giants battle out their differences in the free-market arena, which is where this dispute should have stayed in the first place.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.