Microsoft fined $730 million over browser choice
The European Union fined Microsoft Corp. 拢561 million ($730 million) for failing to allow Windows users to easily choose browsers other than Internet Explorer.
Microsoft and EU made a settlement in 2009 after the commission started investigating allegations that the company abused its dominant position in desktop software by tying Internet Explorer to Windows, EU commissioner Joaq煤in Almunia says in a 聽delivered in a news conference Wednesday.
Microsoft agreed to give Windows users the chance to install other Web browsers at the outset, by displaying a 鈥渂rowser choice screen鈥� listing other browsers.聽However, Mr. Almunia, the vice president of the European Commission for Competition, says Microsoft did not live up to its promise. While Microsoft did make the choice screen available in March 2010, the company did not include it in a Windows 7 service pack software update from May 2011 to July 2012.
鈥淔ollowing an in-depth investigation and taking into account Microsoft鈥檚 reply to our objections, today鈥檚 decision finds that Microsoft has indeed breached its legally binding commitments,鈥� Almunia says. 鈥淪uch a breach is of course very serious, irrespective of whether it was intentional or not, and it calls for a sanction.鈥�
About 15.3 million users did not see the choice screen when they operated Windows, according to Almunia.
Microsoft took responsibility for the violation in to a released Wednesday.
鈥淲e take full responsibility for the technical error that caused this problem and have apologized for it. We provided the commission with a complete and candid assessment of the situation, and we have taken steps to strengthen our software development and other processes to help avoid this mistake 鈥� or anything similar 鈥� in the future.鈥�
The number of people using Internet Explorer in Europe has dropped by more than half in the last few years. Global statistics website StatCounter estimates that 23.9 percent of Internet users in Europe browse with IE, compared to 49.1 percent in March 2009. A StatCounter 聽in October 2010 suggests that the Microsoft choice screen could have played a role in the drop of IE users.
The sanction against Microsoft raises questions about how other multinational companies will fare against the European Commission. The most recent example is Google, who has been in talks with the European Commission for years over allegations about anti-competitive practices with its search engine.
Google offered in February to change some of its business practices, according to Reuters. Proposed changes include labeling its own services in search results to set them apart from other services and imposing more flexible guidelines for advertisers.
Reuters reported that Google ranks first in Internet searching in Europe, with an 82 percent market share, according to research firm comScore.
Bert Foer, president of the American Antitrust Institute, says that although the fine was not excessive (the commission can charge up to 10 percent of a company鈥檚 global annual revenue), it could warn similar companies to abide by antitrust rules.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to calibrate from the outside what a precise award should have been, but I don鈥檛 find this startling or excessive,鈥� Mr. Foer says. 鈥淗opefully it will send the message to multinational companies that in whatever jurisdiction they鈥檙e operating, they鈥檝e got to abide by the constitutional laws.鈥�
"The overall message is that the Europeans do have substantial tools at their disposal for antitrust and that they're pretty serious about it," he added.
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