2004-3-25
This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English Economics
Report.
The European Union's Commission on Competition ruled Wednesday
that the Microsoft Corporation has used its powerful market position
illegally. The E-U ordered Microsoft to provide information about
its Windows operating system to other software companies. The E-U
commission also ordered Microsoft to make a version of Windows
without one of the company's own software products. And, it ordered
the American software company to pay about six-hundred-million
dollars.
Microsoft says it will appeal the decision to the European Court
of First Instance in Luxembourg.
Microsoft is the world's biggest software maker. Software is a
set of orders for the parts of a computer. An operating system is a
complex set of orders that control the computer, its software and
other devices. Microsoft software runs more than ninety percent of
all personal computers in the world.
The E-U commission ruled about Microsoft's addition of a media
player to its operating system. A media player lets a computer play
music and video through the Internet. The commission ordered
Microsoft to make a version of Windows without the Microsoft Media
Player. Microsoft has said that is not possible.
Other software makers are increasingly using open code operating
systems. Any company can make software for these systems. But
Microsoft uses a secret code. The commission did not order Microsoft
to share its secret code. But it did order Microsoft to share
information that will permit competing companies to make software
that works with Microsoft systems.
Microsoft says the commission's actions will give European buyers
fewer choices. The company says a settlement it proposed would have
been better. The company had offered to include three competing
media players along with Windows.
European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti says companies with
powerful market positions have a special responsibility to make sure
they do not prevent competition. He says the decision restores the
conditions for fair competition.
In the nineteen-nineties, the United States government charged
Microsoft with harming competition. Microsoft settled its case with
the government in two-thousand-one.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario
Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.