The European Union (EU) rendered legally binding Microsoft commitments to boost competition on the web browser market, said a press release on Wednesday.
The EU's executive commission rendered legally binding Microsoft commitments to boost competition on the web browser market and dropped
charges against the company, as it committed to give its Windows users a wider choice of web browsers, and allow computer manufacturers and users the possibility to turn Internet Explorer off.
Under the terms of the deal with the commission, computer users with the Microsoft Windows PC operating system will have to be shown a "Choice Screen" which will give them a wider choice of the most widely-used web browsers that run on Windows such as Mozilla' s Firefox, or Google's Chrome.
"Millions of European consumers will benefit from this decision by having a free choice about which web browser they use," said EU Competition
Commissioner Neelie Kroes. "Such choice will not only serve improve people's experience of the internet now but also act as an incentive for web browser companies to innovate and offer people better browsers in the future," the commissioner added.
If Microsoft does not abide by its commitment for the next five years, regulators could fine it up to 10 percent of its yearly global turnover without having to prove their case.
The European Commission's preliminary concern was that competition was distorted by Microsoft tying Internet Explorer to the Windows PC operating
system in breach of EU rules on abuse of a dominant market position. It meant that neither computer manufacturers nor users could uninstall Microsoft's web browser and replace it with another browser of their choice; now, manufacturers will be able to sell PCs without internet explorer in Europe.