Competition Laws: Microsoft 7 without IE in Europe
The European Commission ruling is having an affect: Microsoft will market its new operating system in Europe without Internet Explorer.
In his blog, Microsoft lawyer and Vice President Dave Heiner, says the company was “working to fulfill its legal obligations in Europe for Windows 7” and goes on to explain how a pending legal case has raised concerns about the level of competition among browsers in Europe. He writes that Microsoft “must comply with European competition law” and adds “ we’ve decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately.”
Manufacturers have been informed of Microsoft's plans in an effort to keep the targeted release date of October 22. As a means of identification, the European version of Windows 7 will have an E added to the title. Manufacturers have also been told to install a browser of their choice so users can begin to surf the web immediately after purchase.
In an interview with the legal platform Groklaw, a member of the European Commission described the move as “a step in the right direction, but far from enough.” and the Microsoft attorney already has a guess. Heiner writes further, “Our decision to only offer IE separately from Windows 7 in Europe cannot, of course, preclude the possibility of alternative approaches emerging through Commission processes.”
In February 2008 the Commission served Microsoft a record fine of $900 million for breaking European competition rules. The reason was the tight linking of software applications to the operating system, making it difficult for competitors to develop alternatives. In January 2009, after a complaint by the browser company Opera, the European Commission again warned Microsoft its browser was too closely connected to Windows. The complaint was supported by the Free Software Foundation Europe, Google and Mozilla.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.