Antitrust Law
Complaints Spur Microsoft Vista Change
Posted Jun 20, 2007, 10:27 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Microsoft Corp. will change its Vista software to make it easier for users to run Internet searches using Google and other competitors.
The action is in response to antitrust complaints filed with state and federal agencies by Google Inc., the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Google had claimed the Vista operating system made it more difficult to use competitors’ search engines.
The Justice Department and state attorneys general revealed Microsoft’s plan yesterday in a status report (PDF posted by Seattle Times) on a Microsoft’s 2002 antitrust settlement. Vista users will now be able to change their default settings to favor different search engines.
The success is one of the first for an expanded Washington office set up by Google, the Washington Post reports. It employs 12 lobbyists and lobbying related professionals. Staffers in the office helped write the antitrust complaint.