Microsoft's European experience troubling for U.S. companies

The latest regulatory actions by the competition unit of the European Union against Microsoft could have a profound impact on other U.S. companies doing business in Europe. Consumers may end up paying the freight for runaway regulation.

This latest salvo by the EU's European Commission is a voluminous "Statement of Objections'' in its unending antitrust proceedings against Microsoft. True, domestic and foreign governments should be concerned whenever a single large player dominates a market through unreasonable restraints on competition. That's what antitrust laws are designed to remedy. But the devil is in the details. The European Commission seems to be overreaching in its efforts.

We believe the commission is playing a simple hold-up game that is designed more to shake down an individual company for the benefit of the government regulators than to help competition. This is alarming not just to Microsoft but also to other large, U.S.-based companies doing business in Europe. This treatment of Microsoft at the hands of a unilateral regulatory body will probably be used against other global businesses as the commission's appetite to regulate grows. Companies like Apple and Qualcomm already have drawn the commission's attention. ...

* STEPHEN H. HABER is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor at Stanford University. F. SCOTT KIEFF is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. TROY A. PAREDES is a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. The authors are collaborating on a research project.

•	Microsoft's European experience troubling for U.S. companies SiliconValley.com, Wednesday, March 14, 2007 Byline: Stephen H. Haber, F. Scott Kieff and Troy A. Paredes

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