TheEuropean Commission has charged Microsofta second time for abusing its monopoly of the software
market.
This time the EC is tackling Microsoft over tying Internet
Explorer to the Windows operating system.
US authorities filed similar charges against Microsoft in 1998,
but by 2000 had failed to force a separation of the two.
In 2004, the EC was successful in its monopoly abuse case
against Microsoft for linking its media player to Windows, fining
the software-maker Euro497m.
The latest EC charges follow a year-long investigation in
response to a complaint by Norwegian browser development firm Opera
Software.
In its
December 2007 complaint, Opera called on the EC to compel
Microsoft to give consumers a real choice of browser.
Opera also complained that Microsoft was hindering
interoperability by not following accepted web standards.
Jason Hoida, deputy general counsel for Opera, said he was
confident the EC would take all necessary actions to restore
competition and consumer choice.
Microsoft could come under increased pressure in the US with a
change in administration, which may not be as corporate-friendly as
the previous one.
The likelihood of anti-monopoly charges against Microsoft is
also increased by the fact that the company has integrated more
internet capabilities into
Windows 7,
the next version of its operating system.