Antitrust investigation into web browser comes to an end.
The European Commission announced yesterday (16 December) that it had reached a deal with Microsoft to end an antitrust investigation into the firm’s Internet Explorer (IE) web browser.
The Commission launched the investigation in January 2008 because of concerns that Microsoft’s practice of bundling IE with copies of its Windows operating system gave it an unfair advantage over other browser manufacturers.
Users of Windows who have IE set as their default browser will, from mid-March 2010, be electronically sent a ‘choice screen’ allowing them to install other browsers. The roll-out of this screen will be completed by May for existing users, and will also be included for the next five years in new PCs with Windows pre-installed. Microsoft will be obliged to make changes to the screen if so requested by the Commission.
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The deal includes changes to Windows that will allow people to disable IE and commitments from Microsoft not to discriminate against computer manufacturers who pre-install browsers other than IE.
The deal was welcomed as “a victory for the future of the web” by Jon von Tetzchner, the chief executive of Opera Software, a Norwegian browser manufacturer that made the original complaint to the Commission about IE. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s senior vice-president, said that the deal was “a major step forward”, but would require “significant change” within Microsoft.
Sundar Pichai, the vice-president of Google responsible for product management, said that the Commission had taken an “important decision designed to inject more competition into the crucial market for internet browsers”. Google competes in this market with its browser, Chrome.
OpenForum Europe, an association lobbying for use of open-source software, said that the Commission had “sent an important message to the ICT industry that it will no longer tolerate illegal practices”.