European regulators and Internet browser market

‘Extraordinary’ attack on Microsoft
By Richard Waters in San Francisco and Nikki Tait in Brussels

Published: January 18 2009 22:58 | Last updated: January 18 2009 22:58

By reopening an old battle over Microsoft’s dominance of the internet browser market, European regulators late last week took a controversial step that some legal and technology observers argued was an unnecessary return to an issue whose time had passed.

At the same time, however, the antitrust attack could help tip the balance in a rivalry that has become central to the future of the internet: the contest between Microsoft and Google for leadership for the next generation of online services.

Europe’s complaint, not yet made public but confirmed by both sides, takes issue with Microsoft’s inclusion of its Internet Explorer browser in Windows – the same issue that prompted a US antitrust challenge more than a decade ago after the tactic was used to defeat browser pioneer Netscape.

Source:
FT.com / Companies / Technology - Extraordinary attack on Microsoft

Brussels' antitrust attack against Microsoft could help tip the balance in a rivalry between the software group and Google that has become central to the future of the Internet.