Brussels, 17/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia announced on 17 July 2012 that the European Commission has opened proceedings against Microsoft to investigate possible non-compliance with browser choice commitments made in 2009 (to offer users a choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser). If the suspicions are justified, then this would be the first time ever that a company has failed to respect its pledges to the European Commission on competition issues and Microsoft risks huge fines of up to 10% of annual turnover, said the Commissioner.
On 16 December 2009 (see EUROPE 10042), the Commission made legally binding on Microsoft commitments offered by the US software company to address competition concerns the Commission had identified. These concerns related to the tying of Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer, to its dominant client PC operating system, Windows. Specifically, Microsoft committed to make available in the European Economic Area for a period of five years (i.e. until 2014) a “Choice Screen”, enabling users of Windows to choose in an informed and unbiased manner which web browser(s) they wanted to install in addition to, or instead of, Microsoft's web browser Web (giving them the choice of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Apple Safari). Complaints received by the Commission revealed that Microsoft had not kept its promise for the operating system of Windows 7 Service Pack 1, issued in February 2011, although in its annual report on commitment compliance, it claimed to have respected the commitment.
The Commissioner said that Microsoft recognises the facts and the way some 28 million users have not been able to access the navigator choice screen. “Microsoft has recognised the facts”, the commissioner said, regretting that “around 28 million users” did not have access to the screen giving them a choice of browser. “We take compliance with our decisions very seriously. And I trusted the company's reports were accurate. But it seems that was not the case, so we have immediately taken action. If, following our investigation, the infringement is confirmed, Microsoft should expect sanctions”, added Almunia. Microsoft says it is a technical problem, and apologises to users, saying it deeply regrets the mistake and offering to extend its commitments for fifteen months. (FG/transl.fl)