Feds side with Microsoft in Korea flap
C|Net | at | by Mike
The Bush administration on Wednesday protested South Korea's decision to fine Microsoft roughly $32 million and order the software company to redesign portions of its Windows operating system.
"Korea's remedy goes beyond what is necessary or appropriate to protect consumers, as it requires the removal of products that consumers may prefer," J. Bruce McDonald, deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department's antitrust division, said in a statement.
Perhaps fearing that governments may line up by the dozens to take a chunk out of Microsoft's hide by wielding antitrust charges as a secondary form of taxation, the Bush administration is echoing that line. The administration argues that Microsoft is already regulated by U.S. law and has been under court scrutiny because of a 2002 settlement.