Microsoft paints Google as European boogey-man
Microsoft is claiming that threatened European Union sanctions over the bundling of Internet Explorer would themselves cause an unfair competitive advantage for Google. The comments follow the announcement that Microsoft will present its defense between June. 3 and 5
The claim comes in a Microsoft paper filed with European regulators raising legal objections in advance of any action taken against the firm. The confidential filing, leaked to the Financial Times, makes three new arguments:
- Because both Opera and Firefox have deals to set Google as the default homepage, the deal would risk giving Google an unfair advantage in the search market.
- The threatened punishment of forcing Microsoft to include other browsers as optional parts of Windows would be invalid as it breaches the principle that it’s up to anti-competition violators to choose their own method of putting right their offenses.
- The EU hasn’t done enough research into market shares and is relying on outdated figures which overstate the current Microsoft position in the browser market.
There’s no word on who is responsible for the leak. The document has already been seen by firms, including Google, which have joined the case as third-parties.
The European Commission, the EU’s administrative wing, has now scheduled the oral arguments in the case for June 3 to 5. That’s in response to Microsoft’s decision to exercise its right to a full hearing. However, the firm may simply have done this to buy more time and it’s not clear if it will actually appear at a hearing. PC World reports that Microsoft, “has not made a final decision about whether it will actually go through with the conference.”
Even if the EU does find against Microsoft, the firm would have the option to appeal, it could be several years before any punishment takes effect (and even longer if Microsoft had to be forced to comply with a ruling.)
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