By KEVIN J. O’BRIEN, New York Times
BERLIN — European regulators dropped their antitrust case against Microsoft on Wednesday after the software maker agreed to offer consumers a choice of rival Web browsers. The settlement averted a second costly legal battle for the American software giant.
The agreement, announced in Brussels by the European competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, calls for Microsoft to give Windows users a choice of up to 11 other browsers from competing companies, including Mozilla, Apple and Google.
Users of Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows operating system in Europe who have chosen its Internet Explorer as their default browser will receive in a software update an option to switch to a rival, starting next year.
“Millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision by having a free choice about which web browser they use,” Ms. Kroes said in a statement.
In a statement, Microsoft said it was “pleased” with the decision. Jesse Verstraete, a Microsoft spokesman in Brussels, said the company has no plans to extend the offer beyond the 27-member European Union, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Still, the settlement underlines, according to legal experts, the increasingly conciliatory posture being taken by U.S. technology companies to avoid sanctions — and to be able to keep doing business — in Europe.
“These companies recognized that the European Commission is playing a significant role in global antitrust law and must be taken seriously,” Susanne Zuehlke, an antitrust lawyer in Brussels at the U.S. firm of Latham & Watkins, said ahead of the announcement. “Of course, the huge fines recently have also focused everyone’s attention.” (more…)
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