Rick Allen: “I rise to address the European Commission's antitrust action against Microsoft. It is my understanding that antitrust…”

“I rise to address the European Commission's antitrust action against Microsoft. It is my understanding that antitrust authorities for the European Union member nations have given European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti their unanimous backing for a formal commission finding that Microsoft abused its market share of its Windows operating system for personal computers to leverage its way into related markets for networking and multimedia software. It is expected that the European Commission will hand down a formal decision finding that Microsoft is in violation of European Union antitrust laws. By imposing harsh, unprecedented penalties upon Microsoft, the Commission has extended its view of competition and regulation beyond Europe and onto the United States--to the detriment of U.S. laws, industry and consumers. For many years, the European Union and its member states have criticized the United States for adopting laws and regulations that, in the view of European policymakers, have had an extraterritorial reach. The European Commission in particular has consistently urged the United States to ensure that its legal determinations do not intrude into European affairs. We now have a clear example of the European Union not practicing what they preach. If the Commission rules that Microsoft is in violation of European Union antitrust laws, it will undercut the settlement that was so carefully and painstakingly crafted with Microsoft by the U.S.…”