Google is harassing Microsoft because it’s trying to break the way the open web works.

Google and Microsoft engineers may be working together on the Chromium browser code, but that did not stop corporate policy between the two. Google today launched a serious attack on Microsoft, accusing it of trying to break the way the open web works in an attempt to undermine a competitor.

Google is upset about what they say is an attack by Microsoft to undermine the company’s efforts to support journalism and publishers. In January, Google threatened to remove its search engine from Australia in response to a law forcing Google to pay news publishers for their content. Australia passed the law in February, a few days after Google entered into an agreement with News Corp and other publishers to ensure that its services were still available in Australia. (Facebook, on the other hand, has removed the ability for users and publishers to share news content across the country, which has earned some concessions from the Australian government.)

Amidst all this, Microsoft has been very public about supporting the new law in Australia, and has even worked with European publishers to request online platforms to reach deals to pay for news content sales. Google is not happy about Microsoft getting involved, and this is the first major public ghost we’ve seen since the Scroogled era.

“They’re now making self-sufficient claims and are even willing to break the way the open web works in an attempt to undermine a competitor,” said Kent Walker, Google’s global head of affairs, in a blog post. “This latest attack is a return to Microsoft’s years of practice. Walker links to the Wikipedia entry for fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) and accuses Microsoft of muddying the waters to divert from recent security issues.

“It’s no coincidence that Microsoft’s newfound interest in attacking us is coming on the heels of the SolarWinds attack, and at one point they have allowed tens of thousands of their customers to be actively hacked via major Microsoft vulnerabilities , “says Walker. Microsoft has been warned about the vulnerabilities in their system, knew it was being exploited, and is now doing damage control while their customers scramble to pick up the pieces from the name called the Big Email Robbery. So it’s perhaps not surprising to see how they dust off the old distracting Scroogled playbook. ”

This unusual attack by Google also comes as the House Judges Committee looks at the antitrust and commercial aspects of competition for a free and diverse press. Google claims that it does not make money from Google News, but Microsoft claims that it is much more complex and covers Google Search ads, advertising technology business, ad exchange, ad tech tools and Google’s overall consumer set .

“News organizations have advertising inventory to sell, but they can no longer sell directly to those who want to place ads,” said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft. “Instead, for all practical purposes, they should use Google’s tools, work on Google’s advertising exchange, contribute data to Google’s operations, and pay Google money. All of this affects the ability of news organizations to benefit economically even on their own websites. ”

Google and Microsoft are clearly at odds with the core argument of whether publishers should have more control over a digital advertising industry dominated by the search giant and Facebook. Microsoft wants Congress to continue with the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act and “enable news organizations to negotiate jointly with online content distributors.”

Google, on the other hand, believes that its Google News Initiative, where it seeks to collaborate with the news industry, is enough to help news organizations. As Microsoft and Google fight a word battle, the House Judiciary Committee meets today to hear less sharp arguments about the future of the press in a digital age.