Mozilla to join EC's Microsoft antitrust case
Published: 11 Feb 2009 13:44 GMT
Mozilla has been granted permission to participate in the European Commission's antitrust case against Microsoft, a Commission source said on Tuesday.
Mozilla's request for "third-party status" has been granted, entitling the organisation behind the popular Firefox browser to see confidential documents in the case, and to voice objections, the source said.
The Commission, which is the European Union's executive arm, formally put Microsoft on notice in mid-January, objecting to the bundling of the Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.
The Commission's decision, which initially stemmed from a complaint filed by rival browser-maker Opera, gives Microsoft two months to respond to the allegations, as well as opening the case up to third-party involvement.
Mozilla was not immediately available to comment, but its chairwoman, Mitchell Baker, commented on the case in her blog on Friday. She wrote that she agrees with the Commission's allegations that tying Internet Explorer to the Windows harms competition for web browsers and reduces consumer choice.
She also noted: "There are separate questions of whether there is a good remedy, and what that remedy might be. But questions regarding an appropriate remedy do not change the essential fact. Microsoft's business practices have fundamentally diminished (in fact, came very close to eliminating) competition, choice and innovation in how people access the internet."
One potential remedy the Commission is considering is to require Microsoft to include rival browsers with its operating system.
Baker wrote: "I'll be paying close attention to the Commission's activities. An effective remedy would be a watershed event; a poorly constructed remedy could cause unfortunate damage."
Credit: Mozilla to weigh in on EU's Microsoft case from CNET News
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