Microsoft has reportedly blatantly ignored the European Union’s order to offer a choice of web browsers and, as a result, may face up to $7.4 billion in fines. The European Commission began investigating Microsoft again in July after Microsoft failed to offer multiple web browsing solutions for the second time since 2009.
“It should not be a long investigation because the company itself explicitly recognized its breach of the agreement,” Joaquin Alumnia, the European Union Competition Commissioner, said. “The next step is to open a formal proceeding into the company’s breach of an agreement. We are working on this.”
Reuters said Microsoft could face a fine up to $7.4 billion, likely because regulators will try to use Microsoft as an example for why big firms shouldn’t ignore the commission’s orders.
[via Reuters]