EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has reported that the European Commission will charge Microsoft for failing to comply with a 2009 Commission order requiring the software giant to offer a “choice screen” to Windows users enabling them to select a browser from a list that included non-Microsoft options. Beginning in 2011, Microsoft began violating the order. Up to 28 million purchasers of Windows 7, according to Almunia, may not have been offered an option to use a preferred browser other than Internet Explorer.
The EC will open a formal investigation, but the matter is expected to move quickly. According to Almunia, Microsoft “explicitly recognized its breach of the agreement.” Although an initial compliance report stated that the firm had met its obligations, the company later admitted the violation, blaming a technical error.