Microsoft fined $911m for breaking browser pact
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AMSTERDAM (AP) - The European Union (EU) has fined Microsoft 561 million euros (S$911 million) for breaking a pledge to offer personal computer users a choice of Internet browsers when they install the company's flagship Windows operating system.
The penalty imposed by the EU's executive arm, the Commission, is a first for Brussels; no company has ever failed to keep its end of a bargain with EU authorities before.
In 2009, Microsoft Corp struck a broad settlement with the Commission to resolve disputes over the company's abuse of the dominance of Windows, which had spanned more than a decade.
Back then, the company agreed to pay 860 million euros and promised to give Windows users the option of choosing another browser rather than having Microsoft's Internet Explorer automatically installed on their machines.
