I wonder what they do with this money actually. Same as is done with tax money?
The money paid to the European Court goes back into the EU budget.
And lowers the amount member states have to pay (it does not increase the budget)
Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
41–50 of 130 posts
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#42What does this mean for ChromeOS or Firefox OS? I'm seriously curious how the legal system considers them in light of this and why MS hasn't mentioned them (to my knowledge) in their defence.
Simple - they do not have de facto market dominance
When they do and take actions that are detrimental to the proper functioning of a free market they will get fined as well
Microsoft is not evil, not by any normal definition of the word, but they are using power to keep power. That's normal, and that's why anti-trust laws are draconian - something is needed to equalise the odds
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#43What does this mean for ChromeOS or Firefox OS? I'm seriously curious how the legal system considers them in light of this and why MS hasn't mentioned them (to my knowledge) in their defence.
Simple - they do not have de facto market dominance
When they do and take actions that are detrimental to the proper functioning of a free market they will get fined as well
Microsoft is not evil, not by any normal definition of the word, but they are using power to keep power. That's normal, and that's why anti-trust laws are draconian - something is needed to equalise the odds
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#44Why don't they start fining car manufacturers for not providing customers with a choice of seats made by other manufactures? Antitrust law in the EU is a load of bs, coming from someone who uninstalls IE first thing after installing Windows.
You "uninstall IE" eh?
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#45Why don't they start fining car manufacturers for not providing customers with a choice of seats made by other manufactures? Antitrust law in the EU is a load of bs, coming from someone who uninstalls IE first thing after installing Windows.
Or more related, why can Microsoft bundle Paint and Outlook without providing alternate graphic programs and mail clients?
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#46Microsoft will probably counter-fine by raising its prices by 1€ in EU. Europe will happily pay for it.
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#47I think more companies should be fined like this, as a percentage of their anual revenue. Except that I would further increase the percentage - up to 50% or even 100%. It's very simple: citizens go to jail, companies can't; so we have to make them pay, a lot. When fines are a fixed amount, the corporations have to simply earn more by committing the crime than they would have to pay if caught; banks are very adept at…
>committing the crime If a someone in a corporation is actually committing a crime , then, yes they can go to jail. If they have committed some kind of civil offense or if it's a criminal offense with no jail term attached then they don't go to jail. There's nothing special about corporations that prevent the people in charge from serving jail time.
Serving time for a purely corporate offence is very very rare. Health and safety negligence is most common, but even the horse war scandal in Europe (where unfit horses were sold as beef and then into ready meals) it's unlikely and people there committed fraud as part of course of business
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#48I think more companies should be fined like this, as a percentage of their anual revenue. Except that I would further increase the percentage - up to 50% or even 100%. It's very simple: citizens go to jail, companies can't; so we have to make them pay, a lot. When fines are a fixed amount, the corporations have to simply earn more by committing the crime than they would have to pay if caught; banks are very adept at…
This fine is plain stupid. Why EU doesn't fine Google for the same thing on Android. Android is in a monopoly position in EU and I do not saw any broswer choice screen when I first start my Android phone.
Android's 61% market share in Europe is hardly a monopoly:
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/apple-raises-market-share-to-5...
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#49I think the EU should stop collecting taxes and get American tech giants to fund the public service with spurious fines.
Re: Microsoft fined $731m by European Commission over web browser choice
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think they can just cut off every Microsoft consultancy, every Windows user and throw them out of the EU. If they did, I'd be heading to Brussels with a pitchfork along with about 100 other people at my company.
I seriously doubt MS will commit seppuku over a fine. Which is really what scoffing at this would get them. More than likely, they'll roll out changes to their browser preferences now (that they've been caught red-handed) and maybe include a "browser bundle" that has Firefox, Chrome and IE in newer versions and recommend OEMs deploy the same. Naturally it may still default to IE if the user clicks "next". That way, t…
They already have been doing that for a long time. They are in compliance now.