280.5 Million Euros: Microsoft Antitrust Fine Announced

As it attempts to steer consumer attention towards a new Messenger partnership with Yahoo, Microsoft's enormous fine for antitrust practices in Europe has finally been made public.

The European Commission, part of the European Union (EU), announced Tuesday that Microsoft will be fined a whopping 280.5 million Euros, a levy that breaks down to 1.5 million a day for the period from December 15 to June 20. (Source: betanews.com)

The antitrust fine comes as a result of Microsoft's bitter refusal to share its protocols with competitors, essentially disallowing rival companies the opportunity to become integrated with Windows servers and PCs.

The request, which was asked of Microsoft by the European Union fall 2005, has been disputed since the beginning. It seems the Redmond-based company was hardly willing to make its code public forum at the same time it was releasing security software (One Care Live) and an anti-piracy program (Windows Genuine Advantage).

Microsoft aggravated the EU by attempting on a few occasions to embarrass its commission, including the practice of releasing confidential documents. (Source: betanews.com)

Amounting to about $357 million USD, Microsoft has already stated that it will appeal the EU fine. As it became increasingly apparent that the EU would demand compensation for antitrust practices, Microsoft began to clean up its act, offering some level of interoperability with European competitors.

This may be the reason for the fine's slight decline, which was at one point threatened to reach 3 million euros a day for the December to June period. It could still, if Microsoft continues to refuse full cooperation until the end of the current month. (Source: newscientisttech.com)

Microsoft has denied that such hesitation on their part is part of a monopoly-driven agenda.