EU to Microsoft: Give code or get fined

Lincoln Russell 15 Nov, 2006 at 12:25pm ET Article published in Tech

To the tune of $3 million a day – starting in 8 days.

European Commissioner Neelie Kroes has announced that Microsoft must turn over “secret info” on Windows protocols within 8 days or it will be slapped with massive fines.

From The Inquirer:

Kroes said that the data that was required was a jigsaw and some of the pieces were missing. She didn’t say if they were the sort of pieces that were crucial, like the corners, or if they were just those silly bits with the sky in them.

The story is being carried on Slashdot, The Inq, and The Register. You’ll find The Reg to be the most informative on this one.

Comments

15 Nov 2006 ~ 4:51pm RADA I'll be the 1st to agree that MS hasn't always played 100% fair, but the EU isn't out to make a fair playing field, they are out to hurt a profitable American company.
The EU's bias is almost palettable..
15 Nov 2006 ~ 4:58pm Thrax The EU's practices against Microsoft reek of international strong-arming. Microsoft including WMP11 in their product is hardly a sin; since when is a company not allowed to make their product do more? It's ridiculous.
15 Nov 2006 ~ 9:29pm Jengo I agree, i hate Microsoft and i sure as hell am not afraid to admit it, But this is just rape...
17 Nov 2006 ~ 8:55am rapture

but the EU isn't out to make a fair playing field, they are out to hurt a profitable American company.

Sorry but you need to get over yourself. Microsoft are a global company and the EU has every right to protect themselves in any way they see fit. Europe is a big market for Microsoft and if they don't play by the rules the EU is going to fine them.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 9:22am Thrax The simple fact of the matter is that the European Union is attempting to legislate features of a product. Imagine if European cars coming into the United States had to be neutered to give domestic automobiles an unfair advantage in the market. Imagine European car manufacturers having to disburse the secrets of their R&D teams to the US Government just to get their products into the country to sell. The EU would cry foul and go willy nilly over American capitalistic imperialism.

The EU is attempting to state that their citizens are not entitled to a fully-featured product, a product with no capability to play back any media of any kind out of the box. And it's similarly expecting Microsoft customers to know alternatives so the EU can follow through with its crusade to legislate product capability.

Windows Media Player is not going to ruin the market for other media player manufacturers, because not only are the best ones unable to be sold for money, few people know the alternatives anyhow. To suggest that Windows should not be able to ship with the ability to play music, movies or DVDs, essential parts of people's lives when it comes to entertainment is preposterous and nothing more.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 11:02am rapture I think you're missing the point. If I want to sell something in America I have to adhere to American law. If I want to sell something in Europe then I have to adhere to their laws.

Its not some anti American thing its just that governments/collectives have the right to enforce their own laws in their part of the world.

Cars are a good and bad example. Emissions, safety and other things have to come into consideration but they tend to be much harder to ship and sell so far away. Microsoft can have their latest product in print anywhere in the world in minutes.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 11:23am Thrax The point is not being missed. Your point is that a company must comply with local laws to do business in that locality. Fair. But my point of contention, and that of others is that the local laws are preposterous in their intent and effect. Telling a company that they can't ship their world-wide product with a capability that every other competitor has fails to comply with legal precidence or any sense of uniformity in its application.

Not every law is wise, fair or reasonable, and people have the right to point it out when this is the case.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 11:29am RADA

rapture-IC wrote:

Sorry but you need to get over yourself.

Yeah, you need to get a life, You attack me because I have a different view on a situation than you? Some how this is all my fault, which gives you the right to insult me?

rapture-IC wrote:

Microsoft are a global company and the EU has every right to protect themselves in any way they see fit. Europe is a big market for Microsoft and if they don't play by the rules the EU is going to fine them.

On more than one occasion during this fiasco, MS was told to cough up code while other companies (EU companies) were given a pass. The EU claims to "looking out for its people" when what it is really engaged in outright protectionism against a profitable American company. This is the same "Pull the successful down into mediocrity" crap they pulled against GE, and Ford, and Apple computers in the past.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 12:08pm Linc

rapture-IC wrote:

Sorry but you need to get over yourself.

I understand the point you're trying to make - it's a legitimate argument - but let's keep this above the belt. That little sentence undermined your argument by making it personal, and then it gets angry instead of technical.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 1:36pm RADA REMOVED BY REQUEST
I made one post on this thread, and some how that qualifies as "no signs of stopping"??

REMOVED BY REQUEST

Never attempted to make it hard in the first place, I simply made a comment on how I viewed the situation (which others here agreed with) then you attack me because I have different viewpoint than you. Do you attack all who think differently than you?

You stated you case here without attack from me or the others that posted to this thread, we never belittled you for your difference of opinion, yet you cannot respond inkind..... sad. I purposely separated you personal attack on me from my theories on how the EU was treating Microsoft unfairly.

REMOVED BY REQUEST

So this wasn't really a disagreement with how the EU is treating MS, since you seem to agree with us. It was in fact a personal attack on me...

Did I offend you somehow in the past? I fail to see how this post warrants such a response...
17 Nov 2006 ~ 1:52pm Oriane Oh my. If I'm reading this right, I think the issue is over what exactly Microsoft has agreed to turn over. If anything, I think this could go on a long time in court- at 3 million pounds a day, I think it could be a lot of lawyers for a lot of days.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 1:55pm rapture Well my post has been deleted now so its hard to see. My main problem was with you wanting to make this an EU vs the US thing when clearly it is not.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 1:57pm profdlp Somehow, I think that if MS was a European company this would not be such an issue.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 5:27pm rapture

profdlp wrote:

Somehow, I think that if MS was a European company this would not be such an issue.

Now that’s complete crap, if you seriously believe that then you are an idiot.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 5:42pm Thrax Why can't you respond civilly, Rapture? He made no personal attack on you, yet you came out swinging?

<i>Relax</i>, man, and see that there are numerous OSes for sale in the UK that aren't getting the same cold shoulder: Fedora, SUSE, Mac OSX, etc. They <i>all</i> do what Windows do in the manner the EU is contesting, but the EU is dead silent. What about that? Why the specific bone to pick with Microsoft? The fines being levied border on preposterous, yet Microsoft is the only one that can afford it.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 5:47pm Leonardo

EU vs the US thing when clearly it is not

Agreed.

No one is picking on the EU per se, but on EU bureaucrats and functionaries who trying to be big and bad and make a name for themselves (and justify their highly paid positions). YES, those types, tax money inhalers, are a plague in the US as well.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 6:36pm profdlp

Thrax wrote:

Why can't you respond civilly, Rapture? He made no personal attack on you, yet you came out swinging?...

Old legal saying:

When the facts are on your side, argue the facts.

When the law is on your side, argue the law.

If neither the facts nor the law are on your side, pound on the table.
17 Nov 2006 ~ 7:08pm Linc And I've had quite enough of the table pounding.