European Regulators Just Can't Leave Microsoft Alone
On Thursday, Microsoft was informed by the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission that it believes the software giant has violated European competition law by including Internet Explorer in Windows since 1996.
According to the EU, the U.S. court judgment handed down in 2002 on this same issue doesn't shield Microsoft from answering for its violations of EU law, so it looks like Microsoft will once again be dragged into court over IE bundling. The EU will have to chance to add to the $2.5 billion in fines it has already handed out to its favorite punching bag/software company.
In a Thursday post to the new Microsoft On The Issues blog, Microsoft -- for probably the 18,000th time -- issued a statement indicating its commitment to conducting its business in full compliance with European law.
Microsoft, which could be forgiven if it issued European map dartboards to all its employees, has two months to respond to the latest charges, and also has the option of requesting a hearing with EU officials. The European Commission would then make a final determination.