EU Slaps Microsoft With Macro $1.35 Billion Fine
ADOTAS — Microsoft Corp.’s pledge last week to increase openness and improve interoperability has proved to be too little, too late for European Union regulators. Today, the software behemoth was fined a record0setting $1.35 billion for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust order to supply interoperability data for its products to its competitors.
“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 antitrust decision,” European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement. “I hope that today’s decision closes a dark chapter in Microsoft’s record of non-compliance.”
And Kroes didn’t have warm words for Microsoft’s last-ditch attempt to mollify the commission: “We don’t want talk, we want compliance. If you cheat the rules, you will be caught,” she said at a press conference in Brussels.
The company can appeal the decision. Microsoft said it would review the commission’s action, saying that it focused on “past issues.”
Reader Comments.
No comments yet
Leave a Comment
Article Sponsor
More News
Spotlight
Mobile to the RescueADOTAS EXCLUSIVE — The industry is still wary about mobile advertising — does it work, how significant is the ROI [...] more...
Features
- Down Year Will Bring Opportunities December 3rd 2008
- Mobile to the Rescue December 2nd 2008
- Ideas On Effective Management December 2nd 2008
- Quality Video: DIY (Cheap) or Else December 1st 2008
- Will Widget Channel Be Tuned In? November 26th 2008
Latest News
- Reality Bites Google December 3rd 2008
- 2009 Revenue For Twitter December 3rd 2008
- Funding Round-Up: Evernote, Angie’s List, UTest December 3rd 2008
- Ads Not Working? Change The Font December 3rd 2008
- MySpace Breaks Into Mobile Ad Market December 3rd 2008
- Cyber Monday, Profitless Boon? December 3rd 2008
- Yahoo, Rumors and Stupidity December 3rd 2008
- FCC To Mull Free Internet Plan December 2nd 2008
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
Most Commented
- Targeting Is the Ad Network "Killer App" (7)
- Vengence is Mine Saith Ballmer (6)
- When Boomers, Gen Y Collide (5)
- Study: Blogs Beat Social Networks on Purchase Influence (5)
- Federal Bailout Proposed for Online Ad Industry (4)
- Ad Networks That Buck the Downward Trend (4)
- Self-Serve Ad Exchange: This Century's Strowger Switch? (3)
- Bust-Outs and Layoffs: Apple, NBCU, Nokia, Spot Runner, WildTangent (3)
