Yesterday, during a speech to the European Parliament, a top EU antitrust official, Neelie Kroes, accused Microsoft of abusing its position as market leader and gaining market share because of these abuses.
"Microsoft is constantly gaining market share and that is what is worrying me in the workgroup server operating market," Kroes told Reuters "As a consequence of your abusive behavior you are getting positive results for the company—that's not acceptable in my opinion."
Statistics released by the European Commission show that Microsoft's share of the workgroup server market has grown 100% since 1999 when the EU began its investigation from about 35% then to 70% today. Kroes' comments also seem to imply that Microsoft has continued to grow through their abusive behavior in spite of massive fines, penalties and the demands of the EU.
The EC has always maintained that Microsoft has an unfair advantage over competition because they refuse to share information and code with competitors. However, the EC seems to be on the verge of accusing that Microsoft has only gained market share as a result of illegal, abusive behavior. That statement in itself would be very bold considering the size and complexity of a company such as Microsoft. "There's a fine line between preventing abuse of monopolistic power and implying that Microsoft has only been "dealt with" appropriately when the company ceases to grow its market share, or even loses share to a competitor's products."
Source:
Arstechnica
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Mar 2007 19:27
