EU suspends Microsoft sanctions

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Government Regulation Better Than Free Markets?

If I understand this correctly, the EU has said to Microsoft that, because you control the OS of 95% of new computer sold, that you should not be able to use that monopoly to create a monopoly in streaming media.

The EC?s charge is just a red herring. The EC essentially wants the capacity to regulate the design of Windows (and probably technologies from other large companies), and it is trying to do so using antitrust law. If there is a feature in Windows the EC does not like, the EC believes it can use antitrust law to say to MS that it cannot include the feature, because that would constitute an effort by the software company to leverage its Windows monopoly into another market.

Both issues could have been addressed with a better remedy in by the EU in the first place. They should have mandated that any streaming media server and client that holds more than, say, 2% market share must support a particular standard, lets say MPEG2 or MPEG4. And support must be equal for both the mandated standard and any other closed, proprietary standard. The mandated standard must include a full set of APIs so that any client can be used with any server provided they both meet the standard.

This allows MS to sell Media Player client and server as they do now, and ensures they can't lock-out competitors with their closed, proprietary APIs and file formats.

Or would that have been too simple?

What you are saying is that the computer industry needs regulation. That free markets are inferior to government regulated markets. On what basis do you make your contention? Is there less innovation, competition, or inferior products and services, etc. taking place in the computer market than for example in the much more regulated telephone market? The free market may not give you everything you want perfectly ? e.g. a top of the line Mercedes Benz costing $1,000. But history has shown repeatedly, that it does a much better job satisfying consumers needs than government regulated ones.

Posted by: P. Douglas   Posted on: 06/28/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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