EU fires broadside at Microsoft and Apple

 

Gallery

By Barry Collins

Posted on 10 Jun 2008 at 15:38

The EU's competition commissioner has attacked both Microsoft and Apple during a speech on open standards.

Neelie Kroes kicked off her speech by lamenting the fact that Microsoft required constant regulatory supervision.

"If markets are not delivering as they should, then I want to understand the problems, and find solutions," she said. "That may mean enforcement, advocacy, or specific Commission or national government policy initiatives. In technology markets, I think it means all three.

"We all know that the Commission has found competition problems in at least some technology markets. The Commission has never before had to issue two periodic penalty payments in a competition case... and there are other cases of alleged unlawful conduct pending," she said in a clear reference to Microsoft.

Kroes says proprietary standards aren't a problem in themselves, but can lead to abuse. "Proprietary technology is at the heart of Europe's success in second and third generation mobile technologies, for example," said Kroes. "Intellectual property protection for technology will always be necessary to give just rewards for investment in R&D. There will always be an important place for proprietary technology and formal proprietary standards."

But in what could also be regarded as a veiled criticism of the OOXML ISO process, Kroes said standards bodies needed to be on their guard. "Standards bodies do important work in difficult circumstances," she said. "But like all of us their rules need to keep pace with the changing commercial environment. If they need help in tightening up their rules to avoid being manipulated by narrow commercial interests... then they have my support."

Apple attack

Kroes also used the row over Apple's proprietary iTunes technology to show how consumers can force change without intervention from the competition authorities.

"Over the last couple of years there have been some calls to regulate Apple - in particular to ensure some interoperability between competing music stores and its iPod music players, and between competing music players and music from the iTunes store," she added.

"But now the major labels have licensed other music stores to provide music in MP3 format, a format that can play on the iPod and on other players. So pressure from consumers, and possibly concern from the major labels about over-reliance on Apple, looks to have led to a timely market-based solution."

"This is important. If consumers can avoid lock-in to a single vendor, by exercising influence through purchasing behaviour, they may be wise to do so."