131 líneas
5.3 KiB
HTML
131 líneas
5.3 KiB
HTML
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<html newsdate="2009-02-27">
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<head>
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<title>FSFE engages in the EU browser case</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>FSFE engages in the EU browser case</h1>
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<p newsteaser="yes">Free Software Foundation Europe today announces that it
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will support the European Commission's antitrust investigation against
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Microsoft and to this effect it has formally requested to be admitted as an
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interested third party.</p>
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<p>The investigation began on the 16th of January when the European Commission
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DG Competition reported that it had issued a statement of objections regarding
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Microsoft's abuse of web standards and the tying of Internet Explorer (IE) to
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the Windows Operating System product family. It is based on a complaint
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submitted by Opera, a European company involved in web browser development,
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which FSFE publicly supported in 2007.</p>
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<p>FSFE considers anti-competitive behaviour unacceptable, whether it occurs
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through "tying" products, or in circumventing standards and fair access. FSFE
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will seek to support all processes that ensure competition and enable
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innovation.</p>
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<p>FSFE promotes freedom of choice and protects Open Standards. This includes
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working against abuse of standards through proprietary extensions that
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unlawfully segment the Internet. FSFE welcomes the participation of any company
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in the browser market, including the optimisation of their products to work
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well on target platforms.</p>
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<p>But no company should be in a position to dictate what the Internet will
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look like by leveraging platform dominance into erosion of standards through
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control of server and client.</p>
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<p>FSFE President Georg Greve comments: "Antitrust law has to step in when
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there is consistent and massive abuse of a dominant position that is damaging
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competition in other areas. In this case, Microsoft first used the platform
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monopoly to create artificial ubiquity for Internet Explorer, and then modified
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the standards on both ends to distort compatibility and competition."</p>
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<p>"The design decisions that give IE better integration than alternative
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browsers and to change web standards in undocumented ways were not
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technologically justified. The consequences that made the intervention of the
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European Commission necessary were intended, not accidental," Greve
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concludes.</p>
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<p>"Microsoft's pleas to be in favour of competition and interoperability must
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be followed by real acts of goodwill," states Carlo Piana, counsel for FSFE.
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"So far we have seen little of it: recent actions taken against Free Software
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are eloquent. We will be restless in demanding that real competition be
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restored and that all players are treated equally."</p>
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<p>For FSFE's previous statements, please see:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="http://fsfeurope.org/news/2007/news-20071221-01">FSFE supports new antitrust investigation against Microsoft</a></li>
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<li><a href="http://fsfeurope.org/news/2009/news-20090120-02">Web browser interoperability: FSFE welcomes EC's decision and offers support</a></li>
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</ul>
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<p>For FSFE's letter to the European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes,
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please see:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="http://fsfeurope.org/documents/20071219-opera-antitrust.pdf">Support of Opera Software antitrust complaint</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h2>Background</h2>
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<p>FSFE previously supported the European Commission's DG Competition in its
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2001 investigation against Microsoft's non-disclosure of interoperability data.
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This was the first time the Free Software community became involved in such a
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case, and helped lead to a final decision in 2004 against Microsoft demanding
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that interoperability information be made public.</p>
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<p>The ruling was upheld by a 2007 ruling at the European Court of First
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Instance, and eventually, Samba and the entire community received access to the
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interoperability information upon conditions compatible with the GNU General
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Public License, which is now being implemented into better and more
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interoperable software that will benefit the entire IT ecosystem.</p>
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<h2>About the Free Software Foundation Europe</h2>
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<p>The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit non-governmental
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organisation active in many European countries and involved in many global
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activities. Access to software determines participation in a digital society.
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To secure equal participation in the information age, as well as freedom of
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competition, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is
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dedicated to the furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use,
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study, modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
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securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
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supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.</p>
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<p>You will find further information about the work of the FSFE at <a
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href="http://www.fsfeurope.org/">http://www.fsfeurope.org/</a>.</p>
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<h2>Contact</h2>
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<ul>
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<li>Belgium: +32 2 747 03 57</li>
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<li>Germany: +49 700 373 38 76 73</li>
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<li>Sweden: +46 31 7802160</li>
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<li>Switzerland: +41 43 500 03 66</li>
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<li>UK: +44 29 200 08 17 7</li>
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</ul>
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<p><a href="/contact/contact.html">Other ways to get in touch</a> with the
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FSFE.</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag>Policy</tag>
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<tag>Antitrust</tag>
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<tag>Microsoft</tag>
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<tag content="European Commission">EuropeanCommission</tag>
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</tags>
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<timestamp>$Date$ $Author$</timestamp>
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