Forum Views () 
Forum Replies ()  
 
 
Read more with google mobile :
EU accuses Microsoft of harming browser competition
| Technology
|  
 
 
  
  	
  	  
			 
  
  
    
    
    	
		
			
                
                    
 
                    
                
            
			
			
				
                    
             
                
				
					My Profile 
					 
                    
            
            
                
			
		
  
	
	
	
    
		
	
     
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
  
	
  
	
	
	
    
		
	 
	 
         
         
        
	
	
  
  
  		
  	You are here:
  
    Home
    
      >
      News 
      
      >
      Technology 
      
      >
      Article
	
    
		
	
  
 
    
               
      
Home
        
Business & Finance
        
News
        
U.S.
                
Politics
                
International
                
Technology
                
Internet
                            
                        
            
Entertainment
                
Sports
                
Lifestyle
                
Oddly Enough
                
Environment
                
Health
                
Science
                
Special Coverage
                
Video
                
Pictures
                
Your View
                
The Great Debate
                
Blogs
                
Weather
                
Reader Feedback
                
      
	
    
		
	 
	 
         
         
        
	
	
  
               
      
	
Do More With Reuters
		
RSS
		
Widgets
		
Mobile
		
Podcasts
		
Newsletters
		
Your View
		
Make Reuters My Homepage
	
Partner Services
		
CareerBuilder
		
Affiliate Network
	
Professional Products
		
Support (Customer Zone)
		
Reuters Media
		
Financial Products
	
About Thomson Reuters
 
      
    
      
    
	
		
EU accuses Microsoft of harming browser competition
	
Fri Jan 16, 2009 9:05pm EST
 
	 
               
       
	
	
	 
		
			Email | Print | 
Share
 | Reprints | Single Page
	
			[-]
			Text
			[+]
	
	
	
	
      
 
 
		
    
    
By Ingrid Melander and Edwin Chan
    
LOS ANGELES/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission accused Microsoft Corp on Friday of stymieing competition by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with Windows systems, firing the latest salvo in an expensive, years-long battle with the software titan.
    
The executive arm of the European Union reached the preliminary view that the company, which controls roughly three-quarters of the Web browser arena, had prevented rival browsers from competing and had infringed EU rules by abusing its dominant position.
    
It added that Microsoft had eight weeks to reply to a "statement of objections" sent to the company, in which it threatened to impose a fine on the U.S. software giant if its preliminary findings were confirmed.
    
Microsoft has had to shell out over $1 billion in fines to the commission in the past.
    
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.
    
"This case is about the future, about maintaining an open and dynamic Internet," said Thomas Vinje, a Clifford Chance lawyer representing ECIS, a non-profit organization that promotes market conditions in the tech sector.
    
"Microsoft has achieved ubiquity for IE (Internet Explorer). This ubiquity distorts competition and favors Microsoft's monopolies in ways completely unrelated to the merits of Microsoft's products."
    
Microsoft said in a separate statement on Friday that it was studying the Commission's views and did not rule out requesting a formal hearing.
    
It cited the Commission as saying that remedies put in place by U.S. courts in 2002 after antitrust proceedings also did not make Windows-Explorer bundling lawful.
    
"We are committed to conducting our business in full compliance with European law," the company said in a short statement.
    
In February, the EU fined the U.S. software company a record 899 million euros for discouraging software competition, the biggest ever imposed on a corporation at the time.
    
Microsoft controls an estimated three-quarters of the Web-browsing market through Explorer.
    
Analysts say that the firm has diversified enormously and is now no longer so reliant on its Windows system, with revenue coming in from Xbox sales and server software.
    
    
    
      
      
 
      
          © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
    
               
      
	
    
		
 
	
		
 
		
Share:
		
Del.icio.us
		
Digg
		
Mixx
		
My Web
		
Facebook
		
LinkedIn
	
	
  
      
               
      
 
	
			
 
		
  		    Next Article:
		Financial crisis ate your job? Try MySpace
		
 
			
		
 
	
      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
	
     
Also on Reuters
In U.S. recession, poverty strikes middle class
Slideshow 
Slideshow: Scenes from the Hudson River plane crash
Sharks, not humans, most at risk in ocean
  
	
    
						
						
						
	
		
		More Technology News
    
  
  
		
				Steve Jobs's cancer may have recurred: doctors
  |  Video
			
		
				AMD to cut 1,100 jobs
			
		
				Microsoft CEO and Yahoo Chairman have met: reports
			
		
				Financial crisis ate your job? Try MySpace
			
		
				Mobile carriers answer call for new services
			
		
More Technology News...
  
	
    
  
	
	
    
     
     
    
    
        
	
		
		 
	
		
     
		
	 
               
       
      
               
       
      
	
	
 
	
		
	
    
		
	
  
	
    
		
Editor's Choice
	
     
Slideshow 
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours.  Slideshow 
  
	
  
	
    
		
          
	 
	 
         
         
        
	
  
 
 
	
    
				
Most Popular on Reuters
				
					
					
Articles
					
Video
					
				 
			
			
  
               
      
	
	
		
		
						
				
			
Two U.S. banks fail, first casualties in 2009
				
		
			Five deaths linked to U.S. salmonella outbreak
				
		
			Man charged with threatening Obama on website
				
		
			Bin Laden son Saad left Iran, now in Pakistan- US
				
		
			Madoff's fund may not have made a single trade
				
		
			Israel may halt Gaza war  |  Video
				
		
			Florida money manager, millions, missing: police
				
		
			Outrage in Chile at busty Virgin Mary models
				
		
			Hertz to cut more than 4,000 jobs
				
		
			Actor Patrick Swayze released from hospital
				
		
		
			
			
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
		
		
      
               
      
	
	
		
            
                  
                  
										
                  Video 
		
    
			
 "The Miracle on the Hudson"
    
			 Obama's new home front
    
			 Plane crashes into New York river
    
			 US and Israel sign weapons pact
    
			 Obama warns economy could get worse
    
			 Boy George jailed for harming escort
    
			 Gas hints at life on Mars
    
			 Auto slowdown worries Michigan city
    
			 Bank of America's new bailout
    
			 Italian student murder trial begins
    
	
		
		
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
	
	
      
	 
the great debate
What Apple loses without Steve
In the 33 years since he co-founded Apple, Steve Jobs has attracted the fervent devotion of his followers -- the Mac faithful, and more recently, iPod and iPhone fanatics. To them, Steve is a secular messiah; to his detractors, a cult-leader.  Commentary 
	
	
                    
	
	
      
Reuters Deals
 
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
  
	
    
		
 
 
	
  
          
  
    
Reuters.com: 
    Help and Contact Us  | 
    Advertise With Us  | 
    Mobile  | 
    Newsletters  | 
    RSS  | 
    Interactive TV  | 
    Labs  | 
    Reuters in Second Life  | 
    Archive  | 
    Site Index  | 
    Video Index
    
Thomson Reuters Corporate: 
		Copyright  | 
		Disclaimer  | 
		Privacy  | 
		Professional Products  | 
		Professional Products Support  | 
		About Thomson Reuters  | 
    Careers
  	
 
  	
International Editions:
  	
  	Africa  | 
  	Arabic  | 
  	Argentina  | 
  	Brazil  | 
  	Canada  | 
  	China  | 
  	France  | 
  	Germany  | 
  	India  | 
  	Italy  | 
  	Japan  | 
  	Latin America  | 
  	Mexico  | 
  	Russia  | 
  	Spain  | 
  	United Kingdom  | 
  	United States
    
 
    
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
    
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
  
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
Other News on Saturday, 17 January 2009 Momentum builds for a self-ruled southern Iraq  
Gunmen kill election candidate in Iraq  
Pentagon sending Navy Seabees to Afghanistan
| International
|  
Financial crisis ate your job? Try MySpace  
Gaza ceasefire efforts gather pace  
Tom Hanks Has Harsh Words For Mormon Church's Involvement In Prop 8  
Iran's Ahmadinejad says Obama regime 'hostile' to Gazans  
'Dogs don't wear condoms,' says Baywatch star Anderson  
Renowned "Painter Of The People" Artist Andrew Wyeth Dies At Age 91  
Piracy jumps on wave of attacks off Somalia
| International
|  
US consumer prices drop 0.7% in December  
Argentine ranchers cry help as drought kills cattle
| International
|  
Oprah's Secret Cocaine Addiction Past Revealed By Dying Ex-Boyfriend  
Boy George Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For False Imprisonment  
Steve Jobs's cancer may have recurred: doctors
| Technology
|  
AMD to cut 1,100 jobs
| Technology
|  
EU accuses Microsoft of curbing Web browser rivalry
| Technology
|  
Obama's half brother performs in China  
Obama warns about economy, even with stimulus  
Financial crisis ate your job? Try MySpace
| Technology
|  
China FM urges withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza  
Israel, US sign anti-Gaza arms smuggling deal  
Global digital music sales up 25 percent
| Technology
|  
Gazprom Neft chief says could cut capex by 45 pct  
Gaza war fuels anti-Israeli anger in Indonesia  
Pentagon sending Navy "Seabees" to Afghanistan  
China makes arrests in Internet porn campaign
| Technology
|  
Miliband says Pakistan needs to go further on Mumbai  
Rice, Livni sign anti-arms smuggling deal for Gaza  
Sprint pitches $2 billion emergency network to Obama
| Technology
|  
'Go Team' investigators probe miracle air crash  
Tom Hanks Blasts Mormon Church For Opposing Same-Sex Marriage In California  
Pilot Praised For His "Masterful," Rare Water Landing  
Good Bye, Circuit City  
Circuit City Announces It Will Liquidate  
Massive Cold Front Blankets Much Of U.S. With Chilly Temperatures  
Pakistan's July/Dec c/a deficit narrows to $6.053 bln  
US business lobby expects SKorea deal to go through  
US nuclear business delegation visits India  
Switzerland, Japan to clinch trade pact next month  
Slamdance festival marks 15th year beside Sundance
| Entertainment
|  
Artist Andrew Wyeth dies at age 91
| Entertainment
|  
Foundation cancels 2010 poetry festival  
Anne Hathaway gets starstruck over `Slumdog' star  
Christian refuses to drive "No God" bus  
Artist Andrew Wyeth dies at age 91  
As lightning deaths soar, Cambodians look to superstition  
Nude photo of 20-year-old Madonna on auction block  
`Friday Night Lights' has new hope for survival  
US-TECH Summary  
Facebook Drops Burger King 'Whopper Sacrifice' Campaign  
Israel to vote on truce plan proposed by Egypt  
Turkish leaders urge greater UN role in Gaza conflict: report  
Venezuela to vote February 15 on Chavez term limits
| International
|  
Putin lashes out at EU ahead of Moscow gas summit  
Israel poised to call unilateral halt to Gaza offensive: source  
Advanced Micro Devices to cut 1,100 jobs and reduce salaries  
Congo villagers take up arms against LRA rebels
| International
|  
Dump-friends-for-Whoppers application irks Facebook  
UN says Gaza hospitals in crisis  
U.S. Treasury targets bin Laden's son
| International
|  
Iraqi guards said to throw party for shoe-thrower  
Refugee stream from Sri Lanka's war zone picks up
| International
|  
Global digital music sales up 25 percent  
EU accuses Microsoft of harming browser competition  
Sprint pitches $2 billion emergency network to Obama  
AMD to cut 1,100 jobs  
Bush go-ahead to Peru trade deal sparks criticism  
Brazil's Silva expects Chavez-Obama talks  
Pentagon: Seabees shifting from Iraq to Afghan war  
Washington Preparing 42,500-Strong Security Force For Obama's Inauguration  
Wall Street Ends Higher Despite Concerns In Banking Sector  
Osama Bin Laden May Be Suffering From Illness, New Tape Suggests  
China: Melamine victim's parents accept $29,000  
Toyota suspends domestic production: report  
Christie Brinkley's Got Milk, has hope for Obama
| Entertainment
|  
ABC feeling economic, digital pressures
| Entertainment
|  
Motley Crue's Lee revives Mayhem
| Entertainment
|  
Booker T. rocks with Truckers, Neil Young
| Entertainment
|  
Conficker Worm Spreads To 3.5 Million Computers  
Sundance goes green as environment takes spotlight  
Beyonce to serenade Obamas with 'At Last'  
Bruce Springsteen's new disc gets NPR Web debut  
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary  
Christie Brinkley's "Got Milk," has hope for Obama  
Booker T. rocks with Truckers, Neil Young  
Demi Lovato hopes Obama can end Iraq war  
Motley Crue's Lee revives Mayhem  
Kimbell Art Museum names new director  
Nick Jonas on Sasha and Malia: 'Very sweet girls'  
Huge blast rocks Afghan capital  
Israel may halt Gaza war
| International
|  
Israel poised to call unilateral halt to Gaza onslaught  
British PM urges banks to come clean over bad assets  
Obama refuses to surrender Blackberry  
Suicide bomb kills 3 Afghan civilians in capital
| International
|  
Russia, EU, Ukraine set for gas talks  
All aboard, as Obama takes slow train to power  
N.Korea: Not dropping nuclear plan on U.S. threat
| International
|  
Mobile carriers answer call for new services  
Bin Laden son Saad left Iran, now in Pakistan: U.S.
| International
|  
Albanian town bids sorrowful farewell to Bush
| International
|  
Cuba's Fidel Castro working and writing: Chavez
| International
|  
Chavez brushes off rumors of Fidel's bad health  
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,227  
Mentor urges Taiwan's Ma to ensure trial fairness  
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 567  
Afghan child killed, 21 wounded in Kabul blast  
Microsoft CEO and Yahoo Chairman have met: reports
| Technology
|  
EU accuses Microsoft of harming browser competition
| Technology
|  
Report: Tamil rebels kill 51 Sri Lankan soldiers  
Japan marks 14th anniversary of deadly Kobe quake  
Mobile carriers answer call for new services
| Technology
|  
China lawyers to sue Christie's over Yves Saint Laurent auction: report  
11 wounded at German Embassy bombing in Kabul  
NKorea: Priority to build up nuclear deterrent  
Investigators To Remove Plane From Hudson River, Recover Missing Engines  
Singapore government to tighten laws against protests: deputy PM  
Authorities Bare Names Of 5 Fatalities In Homeless Shelter Blaze  
Kidnap forces ICRC to halt operations in southern Philippines: report  
Israel, U.S. Sign Deal To Curb Arms Smuggling In Gaza  
Bomb attack targets German Embassy in Kabul  
Worm Infects 3.5 Million PCs Running On Windows  
Pakistani cenbank sells 20 bln rupees of T-bills  
Toyota to halve domestic production for three months: reports  
Air China warns it faces loss due to fuel hedging  
Patrick Swayze released from hospital
| Entertainment
|  
Sundance opens with hope for indie film
| Entertainment
|  
Piven hit with grievance for leaving Broadway: NYT
| Entertainment
|  
Beatles films inspire new Jonas Brothers TV show
| Entertainment
|  
U.S. company has plans for Ingmar Bergman catalog
| Entertainment
|  
Piven hit with grievance for leaving Broadway: NYT  
Patrick Swayze released from hospital  
Piven hit with grievance for leaving Broadway: NYT  
Swayze checks out of hospital, publicist says  
'Plow' producers file grievance against Piven  
Patrick Swayze released from hospital  
Prosecution: Polanski has no right to hearing  
U.S. company has plans for Ingmar Bergman catalog  
Beatles films inspire new Jonas Brothers TV show  
Kabul blast kills two Afghans, wounds US, Germans  
Russia, Ukraine seek to resolve gas row
| International
|  
McLaren and Hamilton mine new energy reserves  
N.Korea has weaponised plutonium stocks: U.S. expert
| International
|  
Putin says likes Obama, but urges caution
| International
|  
Suicide bomb kills 4 civilians in Afghan capital
| International
|  
Sri Lanka rebels say kill 51 troops; army says lost 7
| International
|  
Philippine troops scour island for Red Cross captives
| International
|  
U.S. says not closing its military base in Kyrgyzstan
| International
|  
Putin warns of 'big expectations' of Obama  
Major troop decisions for Afghan war await Obama  
All aboard, as Obama takes slow train to power  
Thailand agrees to repatriate 5,000 Hmong refugees to Laos  
PM admits rights abuses do occur  
Kyrgyzstan to close US airbase 'in a matter of days'  
Bomb kills 2 Afghans, wounds 6 US troops in Kabul  
No Chinese response to memo on Tibet's autonomy  
Philippine troops scour island for Red Cross captives  
BCA plans to train 9,000 people to meet industry demand  
Malaysia's bellwether by-election 'neck-and-neck'  
Minister George Yeo to make 3—day official visit to France  
MPs continue normal routine of activities despite last week’s attack  
NKorea warns of retaliation against Seoul's policy  
Report: Toyota to halve Japan vehicle output  
Taiwan to let banks put forex deposits in c. bank  
Philippines to charge firms blacklisted by WB if graft proven:govt  
Iranian cleric calls for shooting Israeli FM  
German banks face billions more in losses  
Nokia's music service set for Australia, Singapore  
Vatican to get own YouTube channel  
Malaysia's Islamists win key by-election
| International
|  
Nokia's music service set for Australia, Singapore  
Iran court convicts 4 over alleged US-backed plot  
Afghan foreign minister unhappy with Clinton  
Pakistan: 10 days for Mumbai attack investigation  
Nokia's music service set for Australia, Singapore  
Vatican to get own YouTube channel
| Technology
|  
NKorea warns of retaliation against Seoul's policy  
Stars from "The Little Nyonya" gather for big reunion  
Nokia's music service set for Australia, Singapore
| Technology
|  
Malaysia's Islamists win key by-election  
Rampaging wild elephants kill 3 in northeast India  
MAS announcement brings relief to some, raises more issues for others  
Three-Year-Old Texas Girl Mauled To Death By Rottweiler  
Obama, Biden Embark On Whistle Stop Train Tour To DC  
PM admits rights abuses do occur  
South Carolina 6-Year-Old Girl Accidentally Shot, Killed By Uncle  
N.Korea says plutonium "weaponised" and off-limits  
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro  
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found  
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever  
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production  
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time  
AMD to Start Production of piledriver  
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs  
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia  
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air  
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch  
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent  
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up  
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform  
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis  
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets  
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights