In in an unprecedented move, the European Union has announced that they will fine Microsoft Corporation $731 million for violating one of the company’s commitments.
Microsoft must pay the European Union $731 million.
The announcement, which was made by Joaquin Alumnia, the EUs Competition Commissioner, actually stems back to 2007. That’s when Opera, a Norwegian-based web browser maker, put in a formal complaint against Microsoft, stating that the company was stifling competition on PCs by bundling their Internet Explorer product with its operating system.
While Microsoft initially argued that the move benefited users, the European Commission ultimately sided with Opera, stating that Microsoft was abusing its position. To avoid a fine, the company agreed to offer a choice of browser until at least 2014.
That agreement to include a “browser choice screen pop-up” came in 2010. In 2011, though, Microsoft introduced its Windows 7 operating system, and it did not offer this service.
In fact, the system continued without the service for 14 months.
During announcement of the fine, Alumnia called the year-plus incident “a serious breach”, highlighting the fact that it was the first time a company failed to meet commitments given to the EU in this way.
Microsoft, meanwhile, blamed the oversight on a “technical error” and stated that it took “full responsibility” for what happened.
Story via bbc.co.uk
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