Microsoft Wakes Up To New Antitrust Suit
European Commission
Microsoft faces new charges in a European Court that they have been accused of beating the competition with a big stick by inserting their world famous “Internet Explorer” web browser into their software that goes into all computers. The official charges are “Microsoft’s tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice,” Europe’s top antitrust watchdog said in a statement.”
The Commission “sets out evidence and outlines its preliminary conclusion that Microsoft’s tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system harms competition between Web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice,” the EU executive said in a statement.
“If the preliminary views expressed in the statement of objection are confirmed, the Commission may impose a fine on Microsoft, require Microsoft to cease the abuse and impose a remedy that would restore genuine consumer choice and enable competition on the merits.”
Microsoft and the EU have engaged in a running spat over competition issues for years, and the U.S. company has been fined several times for allegedly abusing its 95 percent dominance of personal computer systems through its ubiquitous Windows software.
Microsoft is no stranger to European courts. In September 2007, Microsoft lost an appeal before Europe’s second-highest court against a fine of nearly 500 million euros that EU regulators slapped on the company in 2004 for abusing its dominant market power.
In February, the commission hit Microsoft with a further fine of 899 million euros for defying its 2004 ruling. Microsoft has lodged an appeal against the decision.
Microsoft continues to appeal each decision.
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