In a week when the EU clamped down on web security Microsoft have woken up to the shock that the EU competition commission have fined the global enterprise a record $1.4bn dollars for failure to end anti-competitive business practices. The fine should send a powerful message to the software industry that will encourage businesses that sell software to become more transparent in their transactions. The European Union’s competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said that the fine would close a ‘dark chapter’ in the history of companies that had refused to comply with legislation.
It follows a 2004 ruling that found Microsoft guilty of exploiting its prominent position in the market to sell its PC operating systems. In October 2007 The Commission announced that Microsoft was in full compliance with the 2004 decision. Microsoft have not been found guilty of breaching the terms of this agreement – the new fine is based on Microsoft’s failure to comply with a different ‘antitrust’ decision.
John Pheasant a partner at an international law firm has suggested that the decision has demonstrated strength by the governing body. He stated that ‘The Commission has stuck to its guns’ and that “the [European] Commission has not been swayed or deflected by the recent announcements by Microsoft.”
The European Commission and the antitrust group continue to investigate allegations of ‘unreasonable pricing’.
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