Or ‘Lobbying alive and well in DC.’
From CNET News.com:
“U.S. politicians lashed out Wednesday at the European Union’s decision to seek sanctions against Microsoft, asking regulators in Brussels to reconsider their decision to levy an unprecedented fine of $613 million.
In a letter to European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti, 10 members of the House International Relations Committee said the federal litigation against Microsoft had resolved outstanding antitrust problems and jointly cautioned that it was of the ‘utmost importance’ that the U.S. continue to take the lead in overseeing American companies’ business practices.”
Put another way, lobbying in DC is alive and well. I’m guessing that the EU wouldn’t have tackled this case unless it believed that 1) Microsoft was being anticompetitive in the EU and 2) that the EU had jurisdiction.
I strongly believe that companies have a beginning, a middle, and an end. And that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the dominance of Microsoft. Which is good news for consumers, who will end up with more real choices, whether those consumers live in the US or the EU.
