US software giant Microsoft Corp faces a European Commission fine over charges it abused the dominance of its Windows operating system and may be ordered to share vital software with competitors.
The EU's executive body said on Wednesday it would give Microsoft one final chance to comment before taking action, adding it was confident its case could weather rigorous legal scrutiny.
"The Commission's preliminary conclusion is that Microsoft's abuses are still ongoing," it said in a statement.
The Commission gave no clear indication of how much the fine would be, although whatever the amount, it is unlikely to make much of a dent in Microsoft's US$49 billion in cash holdings.
It also intends to order the firm to share crucial interface protocols for computer servers with competitors and change the way it distributes its Windows Media Player software, which lets personal computers play music and video.
A final decision, which may still be months away and would set a timetable for new mandatory business practices, can be appealed to EU courts. But an appeal would not freeze the effect of the Commission's decision.
The Commission said Microsoft designs its low-end server software, which manages everything from Web sites to e-mail systems, to work better with Windows than with rival operating systems from Sun Microsystems Inc, Oracle Corp and other competitors.
Sharing Windows' interface protocols could make it easier for software developers using rival systems, including the Linux operating system that is freely available and increasingly popular in servers, to create products that work with Windows.
An EU source said Microsoft now has 70 percent of the market for server operating systems.
The Commission would also force Microsoft either to halt its bundling of Windows Media Player with the Windows operating systems, or to include rival software programs among its offerings.
Critics say the bundling practice puts competing products from Real Networks and Apple Computer at a serious disadvantage.
Tiffany Steckler, a Microsoft spokeswoman in Paris, said the company had dealt with some of the Commission's concerns in remedies agreed to in its US antitrust case. Critics say those remedies have been ineffective.
She added the company was examining the Commission's preliminary findings but considered them unfortunate because they would lengthen the EU's antitrust investigation. Despite those concerns, analysts viewed Wednesday's EU announcement as the first clear signal an end was in sight for the four-year probe.
"This is a precursor to a settlement. I think we'll see a settlement at the end of the year. And I think Microsoft will, in the end, make minor concessions," said David Smith, an analyst with technology consultancy Gartner.
He suspected Microsoft would not give in to requests to prise its Media Player from its Windows operating system, nor would it bundle rival media players in its core operating system software.
But the Commission's tough-sounding rhetoric indicated it had no intention of backing down.
"At this stage, we have so much evidence and we are in possession of such a substantive file that we believe any decision we take will withstand scrutiny of the European court," Commission spokesman Tilman Lueder told a briefing.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from