EC move to boost browser choice
Jinfo Blog

6th January 2010

By Michele Bate

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In an attempt to lessen the stranglehold that Microsoft has over the web browser market, the European Commission (EC) has adopted a Decision whereby Windows users in the European Union will automatically be offered a choice of browsers. The move addresses concerns that Microsoft may have tied its Internet Explorer web browser to the Windows PC operating system in breach of EU rules on abuse of a dominant market position. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a press release: "Millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision by having a free choice about which web browser they use. Such choice will not only serve to improve people's experience of the internet now but also act as an incentive for web browser companies to innovate and offer people better browsers in the future." (See http://digbig.com/5bawsf). According to an EC press release, from mid-March 2010, users with Internet Explorer set as their default browser will be offered a ‘Choice Screen’. It will allow them to choose from 12 browsers - Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir and Slim Browser. The five most widely used browsers will be prominently displayed. The other seven browsers will be shown when the user scrolls sideways. The list of browsers will reportedly be updated every six months “on the basis of several independent sources of market share information”. The Choice Screen will be installed as a Windows update. Computer manufacturers and users will also be able to uninstall (i.e. disable) Microsoft’s web browser should they wish to. The EC has issued a FAQ memo providing further details. (See http://digbig.com/5bawsj). Although it will make it easier for PC users to choose their preferred browser and remind them that Internet Explorer is not the only option, the move will have implications for companies that wish to control which browser is used by their employees. Microsoft has also undertaken to commit to making far-reaching interoperability disclosures to enable third party products to work better with Microsoft products, including Windows, Windows Server, Office, Exchange, and SharePoint (See http://digbig.com/5bawsk). An EC antitrust investigation into interoperability is still pending. Are the EC initiatives likely to prompt similar moves in other countries? Microsoft believes that will not be the case. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, pointed out to the press that an older antitrust case in the US had already determined that Microsoft did not need to separate its browser from the Windows operating system. Regulators in other regions, he said, might want a different approach, but he did not specify what that might be.

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