InfoTech & Public Policy

As we discussed in class a month or so ago, the first Microsoft anti-trust case in the US involved Microsoft’s alleged unfair use of its operating system monopoly to push the use of Microsoft’s internet browser Internet Explorer. The second Microsoft anti-trust case was in the Europe Union and involved Microsoft’s alleged unfair use of its operating system monopoly to push its own brand of video player Microsoft Media Player. The EU forced Microsoft to offer a version of its operating system without the Microsoft player. They also fined Microsoft for its behavior, and that fine is currently under appeal.

I want to talk about the recent Google complaint that Microsoft is bundling its MSN search engine as the default search engine in the new version if Internet Explorer (IE7). Google complained :

“We don’t think it’s right for Microsoft to just set the default to MSN on install,” Marissa Mayer, vice president for search products and user experience at Google, said then.

This may start to sound like the previous two antitrust cases, but there are a few key differences. Google is complaining about the default setting in the internet browser, not the Windows operating system. While IE is the most popular browser, Microsoft does not have as strong a monopoly in the internet browser market as it does in the operating system market. Aside from pure market share, the burden to users switching browsers is much lower. This weakens the monopoly claims because users are not locked into just one browser.

The Department of Justice looked into the claims of unfairness with regards to the default search engine. Just recently the DOJ concluded that the default search engine is easy to change, so does not represent a problem.

The court document noted that personal computer makers are free to set the default search engine to any service they choose. …[the browser] included “a relatively straightforward method for the user to select a different search engine from the initial default.”

To me, this seems like the right decision. Google, however, is still unsatisfied and commented that if Microsoft wanted to make it easy for users to switch, they could have made the default search box configurable with just one click.

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