EU goes after Microsoft, again
European Union regulators are again investigating Microsoft, this time on the suspicion that the company abused its position to squeeze out competing Internet browsers and software rivals dependent on its programs. The EU is also investigating whether Microsoft’s document format, Office Open XML, is “sufficiently interoperable with competitors’ products”.
AP reports that the European Commission has opened two formal probes: one into allegations that Microsoft was illegally giving away its Internet Explorer browser for free with Windows; and a second into whether the company withheld information from companies wanting to make products compatible with Microsoft software.
The initial investigation was prompted by a complaint from Norway’s Opera Software which alleged Microsoft was illegally bundling Internet Explorer with its operating system.
On the second count, the EU said it was acting on a complaint from the European Committee for Interoperable Systems - a group representing IBM, Nokia, Sun Microsystems, RealNetworks and Oracle - that had asked regulators to prevent Vista using Microsoft’s existing monopoly power to move into the new Internet market.
The EU said it would also look at whether Office Open XML was “sufficiently interoperable with competitors’ products”.
Microsoft has said that it developed the format to offer richer software than the open source OpenDocument Format (ODF) created by open source developers and used by IBM, among others. The open source community, however, claims that Microsoft is trying to undermine ODF as a possible rival.
The EU is building on its March 2004 decision that found Microsoft had violated EU antitrust rules by trying to damage rivals for server and media player software. It told Microsoft to offer a version of Windows without the Media Player software, to share communications code with rivals and pay a record $613 million fine. Microsoft finally agreed to obey the ruling in October 2007.
