EU drops Microsoft browser charges with agreement on 'ballot screen'

The EU's Competition Commission has dropped its browser-based anti-trust case against Microsoft after reaching agreement with the US-based software company about providing Windows users with a "ballot screen" that offers them a choice of browsers. The EU argued that including Internet Explorer with Windows gave it an "artificial distribution advantage".

"More than 100 million European computer users stand to benefit from the Commission's decision today. An even higher number will benefit over the five year lifetime of the commitments made binding on Microsoft with today's decision," claimed EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

"The Choice Screen [will] be available from mid-March 2010," she said.

However, at least one of Kroes' claims is simply wrong. She claims that including IE "meant that neither computer manufacturers nor users could disable Microsoft's web browser and replace it with another browser of their choice." In fact, users have always been able to download alternative browsers, and they have been able to choose non-Microsoft programs as the defaults since Windows XP SP1.

In a statement, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said: "We are pleased with today's decision by the European Commission, which approves a final resolution of several longstanding competition law issues in Europe. We look forward to building on the dialogue and trust that has been established between Microsoft and the Commission and to extending our industry leadership on interoperability."

The deal covers "specifically the region known as the European Economic Area, which includes 30 nations," says Smith.

Existing Windows users in Europe, including XP users, will also get the ballot screen via a Windows Update download. This will invite them to choose from a list of the 12 most-widely used browsers: Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, Opera, AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir and Slim Browser. The selection will be open to change every six months as market shares change.

According to AP, the deal "will also allow computer manufacturers to ship PCs without Internet Explorer in Europe." This is not what the EU's statement says, which is: "The commitments also provide that computer manufacturers will be able to install competing web browsers, set those as default and turn Internet Explorer off."

If AP's report is accurate (I've asked Microsoft for confirmation*), this would seem to represent a significant defeat for Microsoft, because it has previously argued that, as the creator of Windows, it has the authority to decide what's included in Windows. PC manufacturers can, and do, add things to their Windows installations -- this has enabled them to charge software suppliers for the installation of massive amounts of "crapware," generally to the detriment of consumers. Also, users already get an option screen that allows them to select non-Microsoft programs. I could be wrong (the idea was mooted for Windows 7 this summer, and there were EU-mandated N editions of Windows that flopped miserably), but I don't think PC manufacturers have been able to leave out standard parts of the Windows installation.

* Microsoft says AP's report is "a simplification" and that the IE code will still be present.

But it is also true that Microsoft has already removed numerous useful programs from Windows 7, offering them separately for download as the Windows Live Essentials suite. Microsoft argues that these need to be updated more often than the Windows operating system, and must therefore be on a different development schedule from the three-year Windows cycle. The Internet Explorer browser clearly needs to be -- and now is -- updated more often than that.

Either way, the deal appears to be a victory for outgoing EU commissioner Kroes, who has fined Microsoft €1.7 billion but denied running an anti-Microsoft vendetta.

The anti-trust case was prompted by Opera, a European browser developer, which filed an anti-trust complaint on December 17, 2007.

According to the NetApps website, Opera's browser has a market share of 2.31%, and has already been overtaken by Google's Chrome (3.93%). It has been markedly less successful than Mozilla Firefox (24.7%), which has achieved 10x Opera's market share and is still growing, without the benefit of EU intervention.

Microsoft has been shipping Internet Explorer as part of Windows since 1995.

* See also the Guardian Business story, EU ends competition case as Microsoft offers choice of web browsers