Microsoft has the European Commission formally told that the antitrust rules may have violated by almost a year and a half no browser choice screen to Windows 7 SP1 users. The punishment has yet to be determined.
According to the European Commission, Microsoft has legally binding agreements violated by between February 2011, the time that Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 was released, and July 2012 is not a browser choice screen to show to millions of Windows users in the EU. Microsoft has acknowledged that during this period the item was not shown, but according to the software giant, it was a mistake and not intentional.
In the meantime, the European regulators after an investigation of Microsoft formally let them know that they do not comply with the agreements would have held. Microsoft has after this formal step, the right to a written response and for a hearing to ask for their opinion for the spotlight. Only when this step in the procedure is completed, the European Commission will have final judgement pronouncing the penalty determination. The European Commission may impose a fine of up to 10 percent of the global turnover.
Microsoft has, since december 2009 a legal obligation to to all Windows users in the EU that Internet Explorer as the default browser, use a browser choice screen to show if the browser for the first time. Thus, consumers would be for an alternative browser can choose. The measure was introduced because Microsoft Internet Explorer has a dominant position on the browser market had obtained.