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99 lines
4.3 KiB
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<html newsdate="2010-02-22"> |
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<head> |
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<title>FSFE to users: Seize your freedom of choice!</title> |
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<body> |
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<h1>FSFE to users: Seize your freedom of choice!</h1> |
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<h2>FSFE welcomes greater competition in European browser market</h2> |
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<p> |
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FSFE welcomes the arrival of greater competition in the web browser |
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market. From today, Microsoft has to offer Windows users in Europe the |
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possibility to choose among different browsers. This step puts into |
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practice the company's settlement with the European Commission from |
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December 2009. The Free Software Foundation Europe was an active |
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participant in the Commission's investigation. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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"For the first time, Microsoft has been forced to offer all users a choice |
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among different web browsers," says FSFE's President Karsten Gerloff. "This |
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is a stop sign for the company's strategy of extending its near-monopoly in |
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desktop operating systems to other markets." |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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FSFE is fighting for freedom of choice and Open Standards. Microsoft's own |
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Internet Explorer browsers do not interpret web standards correctly. The |
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company's near-monopoly on the desktop has meant that web designers have |
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often catered to Microsoft users only, leaving users of rival browsers to |
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deal with broken pages. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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"Microsoft has gained its dominant position in the browser market by |
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violating its consent decree with the US competition authorities. The |
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problem we are trying to fix here wouldn't exist if Microsoft had complied |
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with the laws," says FSFE's Legal Counsel Carlo Piana. "It is no |
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coincidence that we have recently seen more competition among browsers, |
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after years where there was no innovation and a total lack of investment by |
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Microsoft." |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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It is now up to the users to take advantage of the choice they are offered. |
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Gerloff reminds the EC that it will constantly need to monitor the success |
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of the 'ballot screen'. "Microsoft is a convicted monopolist and has broken |
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countless promises in the past," he says. "We urge the European Commission |
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to keep a sharp eye on how well this measure plays out in practice." |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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The 'ballot screen' is currently limited to Europe. "We call on competition |
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authorities around the world to take a cue from the EC's good work in this |
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case. The effect on competition and standards compliance would be much |
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greater if users were offered a choice everywhere", says FSFE's Legal |
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Counsel Carlo Piana. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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It remains to be seen how the 'ballot screen' will improve competition in |
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the market for web browsers. FSFE is equally concerned about the lack of |
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interoperability between Microsoft's products and Free Software |
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competitors, and the company's practice of bundling its operating system |
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with consumer hardware. |
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</p> |
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<h3>Background:</h3> |
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<p> |
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The initial complaint about Microsoft's abuse of its dominant position in |
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the web browser market was brought by Opera. FSFE has supported the |
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investigation as an interested third party, providing feedback and helping |
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to shape the measures imposed by the European Commission. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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The settlement on web browsers is only the latest among several European |
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Commission investigations into Microsoft's anticompetitive behaviour. The |
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most famous among these actions -- where <a |
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href="/activities/ms-vs-eu/ms-vs-eu.html">FSFE was a key |
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player</a> -- concerned the workgroup server operating system market. Also |
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known as the Samba case, it ended with a landmark decision in 2007 by the |
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European Court of Justice. Microsoft was forced to disclose |
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interoperability information that it had illegaly withheld from |
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competitors. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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On the same day that the ballot screen was announced, Microsoft also |
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promised to disclose interoperability information for a number of its |
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products, such as Windows Server, Microsoft Office, Exchange and |
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SharePoint. Here, an investigation by the European Commission is still |
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ongoing. |
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</p> |
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</body> |
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</html> |
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