6Mar/130
Europe tickles Microsoft with €561m fine for browser choice gaffe
Microsoft has been fined €561m ($731m, £484m) by the European Commission for breaking an agreement to offer Windows users alternative web browsers to Internet Explorer.
A fresh investigation was launched against Microsoft by Brussels' competition officials in mid-2012 following complaints that the company was still using its Windows operating system to push people into browsing the web with Internet Explorer.
Microsoft signed a legally binding agreement with the commission that required the firm to display a choice screen in Windows that allowed customers in Europe to pick between using IE, Firefox, Chrome and other browsers on the market. The dialogue box was supposed to remain in the operating system until 2014. Read more...