EU accuses Microsoft of curbing Web browser rivalry

LOS ANGELES/BRUSSELS: The European Commission accused Microsoft Corp of violating competition law by including its Internet Explorer Web browser in Windows operating systems since 1996, the software company said on Friday.

The executive arm of the European Union had dispatched a "statement of objections" to Microsoft, in which it formed a preliminary view that the firm had prevented rival browsers from competing, the U.S. software firm disclosed.

Remedies put in place by U.S. courts in 2002 after antitrust proceedings also did not make Windows-Explorer bundling lawful, Microsoft cited the commission as saying.

"Microsoft's tying of Internet Explorer to the Windows operating system harms competition between web browsers, undermines product innovation and ultimately reduces consumer choice," Europe's top antitrust watchdog said in a statement.

"The commission is concerned that through the tying, Microsoft shields Internet Explorer from head to head competition with other browsers which is detrimental to the pace of product innovation and to the quality of products which consumers ultimately obtain," it said.

Microsoft has eight weeks to respond to the charges and can request an oral hearing to state its defence.

But if the company can not sway the commission, then the commission could slap hefty fines on Microsoft and order it to change its ways.



Microsoft said in a statement it was studying the commission's views and had the option of responding formally within about two months. It did not rule out requesting a formal hearing.

Microsoft and the EU have engaged in a running battle over competition issues for years, and the U.S. firm has been fined more than 1 billion euros in all for allegedly abusing its 95 percent dominance of personal computer systems through its ubiquitous Windows software. Microsoft controls an estimated three-quarters of the Web-browsing market through Explorer.