EC probes Microsoft - again

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 15 January 2008 06:21

IT Policy - Regulation

Microsoft faces new antitrust investigations by the European Commission (EC).

Two separate proceedings are underway. One concerns the alleged tying of products to sales of Microsoft Windows (which holds a dominant market position), the other will investigate Microsoft's alleged refusal to disclose interoperability information relating to the Office suite, various server products and the .NET framework.

"This initiation of proceedings does not imply that the Commission has proof of an infringement. It only signifies that the Commission will further investigate the case as a matter of priority," said Commission officials.

The investigations follow complaints about Microsoft's practices from the European Committee for Interoperable Standards (ECIS, whose members include Adobe, IBM, Nokia, Opera, Oracle, RealNetworks, Red Hat and Sun) about the lack of interoperability information for products such as Office and Exchange Server, and from web browser developer Opera.

Opera objects to the way Internet Explorer does not comply with web standards and is tied to Windows. Since Microsoft has such a dominant position in the market, failing to adhere to standards can be seen as unlawful exclusionary behaviour under the European Community Treaty.

A recent European Court judgement found that Microsoft illegally tied Windows Media Player to Windows, providing a precedent for a similar charge over Internet Explorer.

The Opera complaint is supported by ECIS.

Thomas Vinje, ECIS spokesperson and legal counsel, said "until Microsoft changes its abusive business practices to conform to the principles established when the US and EU first addressed Microsoft abusive tying in 1994, further developed in the Commission's 2004 decision and upheld by the European Court of First Instance, Opera and other innovative browsers will not be able to compete on equal terms, and consumers will continue to be deprived of the benefits of competition-driven innovation and choice."

The 2004 decision cost Microsoft fines of almost €500 million. If the new investigations find the company has violated antitrust provision, additional fines of up to 10 percent of its annual revenue could be imposed.

Microsoft officials said the company would co-operate fully with the EC proceedings.