Sadly, it doesn't appear that's how the current anti-competition leadership
see it. From their press
release:
In 2009, the Commission had made these commitments
legally binding on Microsoft until 2014
Specifically,
Microsoft committed to make available for five years (i.e. until
2014)
The choice screen was provided as of March
2010
So without the 14 months lost, 60 months from Mar 2010 is Mar
2015. But the commission only ever specifies 2014. Absolutely no mention of MS
making up that lost time.
So at this time, it really looks like MS was
able to buy 14 months of non-compliance on top of the non-compliant months from
the actual start date till Mar 2010. If the anti-competition commission really
wants companies to understand they must comply...
the need to ensure
a deterrent effect
... then they really need to consider the 60
months committment in the context of how long the choice really is available and
get some time extension added on.
Otherwise MS has just learned they can
simply pay and still not comply. And other abusive companies just learned the
same lesson.
If the commission thinks 700+ million US is sufficient to
deter MS, the current examiners didn't look at the previous situation and the
fact the fines rang into the Billion range before MS stopped dragging its heals
on the documentation. As some CEO's are wont to say:
Fines are just a cost
of doing business!
RAS[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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