Microsoft Complies With EU On No Browser In Windows 7 For Europe

Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft, wrote in a Microsoft blog that his company is keeping to its plans to release Windows 7 on a worldwide basis on Oct. 22.

Windows 7 will have the same features regardless of where it is purchased, with one notable exception. Heiner wrote that computer manufacturers and consumers in Europe will have a choice of whether or not to install Internet Explorer.

Windows 7 will be offered in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions in Europe as elsewhere. However, Heiner wrote, the European editions, available in 23 languages, will have the letter "E" at the end of the product name, as in Windows 7 Home Premium E.

The move stems from a pending legal case in Europe that raises competitive concerns about the Web browsers available to Windows users in Europe and the European Commission's preliminary findings in January that bundling Internet Explorer in Windows violated European competition law, Heiner wrote.

"We're committed to making Windows 7 available in Europe at the same time that it launches in the rest of the world, but we also must comply with European competition law as we launch the product," Heiner wrote. "Given the pending legal proceeding, we've decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately and on an easy-to-install basis to both computer manufacturers and users ... Of course, they will also be free, as they are today, to install other Web browsers."

Heiner implied that his company is not in agreement with the European Commission's decision.

"We're committed to launching Windows 7 on time in Europe, so we need to address the legal realities in Europe, including the risk of large fines. We believe that this new approach, while not our first choice, is the best path forward given the ongoing legal case in Europe," he wrote.

Microsoft is continuing to explore alternative approaches towards browsers and Windows 7, including offering Internet Explorer along with other browsers as part of a menu to let customers choose which browser to install, Heiner wrote.

Whatever happens will be done in consultation with the European Commission, he wrote. "Given the complexity and competing interests, we don't believe it would be best for us to adopt such an approach unilaterally ... At the end of the day, the obligation to comply with European competition law belongs to Microsoft alone," he wrote.

The entire blog can be read by clicking here.

Reuters on Thursday wrote that the European Commission released a statement offering mixed thoughts on Microsoft's decision.

The European Commission said in the statement that bundling the two could be detrimental to consumer choice, and that it suggested that Microsoft provides consumers with a choice of Web browsers, Reuters wrote.

"Instead, Microsoft has apparently decided to supply retail consumers with a version of Windows without a Web browser at all. Rather than more choice, Microsoft seems to have chosen to provide less," Reuters said, quoting the statement.

However, the European Commission wrote, Microsoft's decision to unbundle the two, while offering consumers less choice, was a positive move for computer manufacturers who have a choice of installing Internet Explorer or some other browser, Reuters wrote.