Massachusetts challenges Microsoft's search plans
16 April 2004
The state of Massachusetts has reportedly expressed concern that Microsoft's plans to enter the search engine market could represent a violation of its dominant market position.
The state lodged a filing with the US District Court for the District of Columbia this week, in which state attorney General Thomas Reilly warned that the settlement reached between the US Justice Department and Microsoft in 2002 is not working to restore competition.
"To date, we have seen no viable evidence that the decree has fostered any competitive benefits in the marketplace," the state filing read. "This is perhaps most disturbing in the Communications Protocol arena, because this aspect of the remedy was supposed to unfetter competition by nurturing development [in crucial software markets.]"
General Reilly claimed in the filing that the state is investigating concerns that if the next version Windows, currently known as Longhorn, incorporates a search engine, it could amount to a new abuse of its IT dominance.
"We also continue to review issues regarding Internet search engines, document format programs and other functionalities that Microsoft allegedly plans to incorporate into the next version of its Windows operating system," he said. "While our current review has not shown Microsoft's actions to be within the reach of this decree, we will continue to investigate as the new version of Windows is finalized."
Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch its own-brand search engine later this year.
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