Microsoft hit by $1.4 billion EU fine
Microsoft has been hit by a record $1.4 billion fine for failing to act on EU sanctions.
European Commission regulators say that the company has not made important software code available to competitors since losing its 2004 anti-trust court case.
Under the terms of the ruling, Microsoft had been required to open up code from its leading software packages including Windows and Internet Explorer to allow rivals to produce compatible programs and operating systems.
Just days after it was revealed that Microsoft’s reputation in the UK was second only to Google, the firm has now become the first in history to defy an EU anti-trust sanction, incurring a record fine in the process.
“Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the Commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an anti-trust decision,” announced Neelie Kroes, EU Competition Commissioner.
The latest fine adds to the 497 million euros Microsoft was fined in the original 2004 ruling and a further 280 million euros in a 2006 judgment.
Microsoft’s problem that won’t go away
Despite already landing itself with record punishments, there could be more punitive action yet to come for Microsoft in Europe.
In January 2008, the European Commission started another two anti-competition investigations into Microsoft’s behaviour; one for potentially abusing its position in the software market to strengthen its position on the internet and the other for still not doing enough to allow compatibility with rival products.
Microsoft strenuously denies claims that it is not complying with the sanctions and insists it is moving towards greater openness.
“… with our new interoperability principles and specific actions to increase the openness of our products, we are focusing on steps that will improve things for the future,” said the company in a statement.
As the dispute rumbles on it will be a point that they will almost certainly have to prove in the courtroom.
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