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(Image source: Wikimedia Commons) BY BRIAN BONDUS
ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY The European Union is fining software giant
Microsoft for violating a 2009 anti-trust agreement. The BBC explains.
“They
promised to offer a choice of rival browsers in versions of windows operating system.
The commission says the firm broke that undertaking. Microsoft says it takes full responsibility
and it was a technical error.”
Microsoft had complied with the agreement until a Windows
7 update. From May 2011 to July 2012 15 million PC users were not given a choice of different
browsers.
The EU fined Microsoft $730 million for the infringement. Might sound
like a lot, but CNN Money says this is pocket change compared to what it could have charged.
“The EU has the power to impose fines of up to 10% of annual revenue, or about $7 billion
in Microsoft's case.”
This is the first time the EU has fined a company for violating
an anti-trust agreement. A New York Times writer says Microsoft may be reluctant to
appeal the case, because it wants the EU to go after Google.
The European Commission
has been investigating Google since 2010 for anti-competitive practices.
“It might
have abused its dominance in Internet search and advertising by giving its own products
an advantage over those of others, even while maintaining that it offered neutral results.
The
Commission offered Google a settlement and an agreement has still not been reached. A
writer for Computerworld notes that if the European Commission goes after Google for
altering its search results, it would be a much bigger deal that going after Microsoft
for browser selection.
“That's at the core of Google's business, not a side issue
like browser choice is to Microsoft... In this instance, Microsoft may have lost the
battle as a way to hope to win the war.