Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Not Only Broke the Law in Europe, So Browser Ballot Should Become International

Country buttons



Summary: A new push for the Web browser ballot to be deployed on all Windows installers/OEM PCs; other abuses of Microsoft in Europe

ECIS, which shed light on Microsoft's crimes last year (scroll down to the appendix and also see this summary of crimes against Netscape in another appendix), has just suggested that Microsoft should take its biased ballot [1, 2] to countries outside Europe. Suffice to say, Microsoft boosters including Microsoft Emil and Mary Jo Foley are whining. They are of course hostile towards the idea.



ECIS describes itself as "an international non-profit association founded in 1989 that endeavours to promote a favourable environment for interoperable ICT solutions," but Mary Jo Foley dismisses it as a "lobbyist group" (it's like calling one's solicitor or a judge a "lobbyist for justice"). Here is how she put it:

ECIS, a lobbyist group with many Microsoft adversaries as members, is calling on regulators worldwide to follow the European Commission (EC) in requiring Microsoft to offer a browser ballot that calls out non-Internet-Explorer alternatives available to PC users.

Starting March 1, Microsoft began pushing out to European Union users an EC-stipulated browser ballot, which makes it plain to consumers that even though Internet Explorer (IE) comes preloaded on Windows PCs, there are other browsers available. Microsoft agreed to provide the browser ballot to EU consumers running IE as their default browser on XP, Vista and Windows 7 as part of a settlement deal with the EC in an antitrust case brought against Microsoft by browser maker Opera Software.


One reader informed us of this new article from eWEEK Europe (titled "Microsoft Accused Of Sneaking IE Clones Into Browser Ballot") and he added: "This explains the strange "random" ballot screen and the inclusion of some very obscure browsers, that are actually IExplorer in disguise."

The article says: "The EC has forced Microsoft to include other browsers in a ballot screen - but according to critics, several of the alternatives are actually Internet Explorer under the hood."

Typical Microsoft. If that's not enough to show the abuses of Microsoft, one abuse that we mentioned yesterday is Microsoft's use of regulators as its private police force. "Microsoft Behind Google Complaints To EC," says Slashdot. eWEEK Europe states in the headline that "Microsoft Was Behind Google Complaints To EC"

A lawyer for Microsoft confirmed that the software giant told the US Department of Justice and the European Commission how Google’s business practices may be harming publishers, advertisers and competition in search and online advertising.


This is far from the first time that Microsoft is playing cop.

Another type of abuse that we see in Europe is the abuse of state press (which is funded by taxpayers). Yesterday we wrote about the BBC excluding Free software users [1, 2, 3] after hiring many executives from Microsoft UK. Based on this news, the BBC is foolish enough to phase out its Web efforts, as though the Internet is just going away.

Closing 6Music and the Asian Network may have grabbed the headlines in the BBC’s plan to reallocate a fifth of its licence fee income - but it’s the web that’s bearing the brunt.

“By far the biggest single adjustment is the tightening of focus of the website,” director general Mark Thompson told FT’s Digital Media & Broadcasting Conference, hours after unveiling the strategy that proposes cutting a quarter from the annual web budget and online staff by 2013 (read all the online key points from earlier).

Thompson gave the example of the BBC’s web community for Scotland’s Western Isles: “Actually, those communities are launching their own sites - someone else is doing it - we can step back. In entertainment - we’ve seen a lot of people stepping up in that space - we can draw back.”


This is another atrocious decision from Thompson (shown below). Perhaps he just doesn't belong in this job.

Ogg Theora





Direct link



Related posts:



Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Why GNU/Linux is Growing
There's growing interest in GNU/Linux right now because people do not fancy buying a new PC just to 'upgrade' (more spying) Windows
 
Five (or Three) Years Without Social Control Media
Glyn Moody quit X (Twitter)
Electronics in People's Bedrooms
Modern technology not only blurred the gap between "functions" of rooms
Gemini Links 19/04/2025: Contingencies, GTD, and Old Computers
Links for the day
Links 19/04/2025: Economic Races, Charm Offensives, and USB-C Rants
Links for the day
Links 19/04/2025: "Infantilization at Big Tech" and LLM Slop Abused in Defiance of Workplace Rules/Policies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/04/2025: Palm Addiction and Real Experts
Links for the day
Egypt is Controlled by Google, Not Microsoft
Moving from Microsoft to Google is not the answer
Microsofters Say They Cannot Find a Job (That They Want) Because of Techrights, But Techrights Merely Reported on Their Behaviour
Quit pointing the finger at people who are recipients of abuse or merely mention the abuse
Free Software and Standards - Not Marketing Blitz - Needed Amid Growing Severity of Dependency on Hostile Suppliers (or Another Country's Sovereignty)
ZenDiS can be described as the "Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration"
When It Comes to the Web, Google is Evil and It Destroys the Web's Integrity With LLM Slop
Even academia, which is meant to keep standards high, is being lured into LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 18, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 18, 2025
Links 18/04/2025: "Fentanylware (TikTok) Exodus Continues", Chinese Weapons Allegedly in Russia Already
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Price of Games and State of Tinylog
Links for the day
Sounds Like IBM is Preparing for Mass Layoffs/Redundancies in Red Hat, Albeit in "PIP" (Performance Improvement Plan) or "Relocation" Clothing
This isn't the "old" IBM; they're applying pressure by confusion and humiliation
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Role of Language and Back to Mutt for E-mail
Links for the day
"Sayonara" (さよなら), Microsoft
Windows had fallen below iOS in some countries
Links 18/04/2025: Layoffs at Microsoft Infosys and Qt Becoming Increasingly Proprietary (Plus Slop)
Links for the day
Google News is Dying
treating MElon's algorithmic/biased site as a source of verified news
Microsoft's Attack Dogs Have Failed. Now What?
It would be utterly foolish to assume that Microsoft has any intention of changing
All Your "Github Projects" Will be Gone One Day (Just Like Skype)
If you have code you wish to share and keep, then start learning how to do so on your own
To Understand Who's Truly Controlling You Follow the Trail of Censorship (or Self-Censorship)
Do not let media steal and steer the narrative; CoCs are not about "social justice", they're about corporate domination
Fedora Already Lost Its Soul Under IBM
Fedora used to be very strict compared to many other distros and it had attracted very bright volunteers
Microsoft is Still Attacking GNU/Linux and the Net
Microsoft bribed the government using money that did not even exist
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 17, 2025
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Pinephone Pro and Linux is too Easy
Links for the day