New sparks between Microsoft and Brussels. After an initial initiative by the EU Antitrust, the IT giant had made a precise commitment: to guarantee all users of the Windows operating system total freedom until 2014 in choosing the browser to navigate online. Now the European Commission accuses the company of having violated the agreement and of having started to guide users towards the use of Explorer again, the browser developed by Microsoft.
According to Brussels, since the introduction of Windows 7 in February 2011, the "Service Pack" provided by the company has no longer included the browser's multiple choice screen. In previous versions of Windows, based on the commitments made in December 2009, the possibility of opting for different products was instead guaranteed. Before the EU Antitrust intervened, the Windows system screen was defaulted to Internet Explorer.
In essence, between February 2011 and July 2011 (when the Commission opened a new procedure for non-compliance with the commitments made) "millions of Windows users in the EU were deprived of the multiple choice screen", as has been recognized from Microsoft itself.
If non-compliance with binding commitments is confirmed, the Commission will be able to fine the company up to 10% of its annual turnover. The first to inflict a similar sting on Microsoft was the current Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, who in 2004 – as EU Competition Commissioner – imposed a 497 million euro fine on the company.
