Microsoft to face hefty fine
SHARON SPITERI
27.01.2004 @ 09:47 CET
The European Commission is poised to fine Microsoft millions of euro for having abused its dominant position in the software market, reports Italian newswire Ansa.
A reference to a hefty economic sanction is made in the draft final ruling which the Commission’s competition body, led by Competition Commissioner Mario Monti, has now completed after more than four years of investigation.
This would mean that the US software giant could face a fine of between 100 to 500 million euro.
The Commission is heading towards a final decision and a ruling from Brussels is expected by May.
Microsoft stands accused of abusing EU competition rules through the bundling of the Media Player software with its Windows operating system.
Brussels also accuses Microsoft of having illicitly extended its dominant position in the market of low band servers.
The Commission had suggested that either Microsoft remove the Media Player from Windows or that it allow other media players access to the operating system.
However the remedies offered so far by Microsoft, which could have avoided a negative verdict, appear to have been insufficient.
