Washington, Aug 08: Strict antitrust sanctions that European regulators are contemplating against Microsoft could lead to a clash with US authorities and put the software giant in a quandary about whether to sell separate US and European versions of Windows. Microsoft might be forced to accede to European Commission penalties that are stricter than the ones in its landmark antitrust settlement with the US government if it wants to avoid fragmenting its flagship operating system product, attorneys said.

The proposed European sanctions would be “far more drastic with far greater implications for the way Microsoft does business than anything done so far in the United States,” said Michael Hausfeld, a class-action attorney who represents a consumer group in the case before the European Commission. If the commission follows through on the sanctions, Hausfeld said, the move could mark “a transition in the history of antitrust law from enforcement being directed by US viewsto one that is more informed by European views.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the European Commission accused Microsoft of leveraging its dominant position in media players, which play movies and video on computers, and low-end servers that manage everything from websites to e-mail systems.
The agency said it might fine Microsoft, order it to reveal key computer code in Windows that allows it to work with servers, and force the company to halt its bundling of Windows Media Player with Windows, or to include rival software programs among its offerings. Bureau Report