Reuters: Microsoft likely to be fined in Europe over antitrust concerns

European regulators are likely to hit Microsoft with a fine by the end of March, according to a Reuters report published today. Citing two individuals familiar with the case, Reuters says the financial punishment will come a result of antitrust violations. The specific charges are unclear, but in October of last year the European Commission accused Microsoft of failing to provide users with a choice of browsers following the release of Windows 7 Service Pack 1. At the time, Microsoft insisted that the oversight was due to a technical error, though the company took on full responsibility for the problem. European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia would later say “there are no grounds to pursue an investigation” into a similar issue with Windows RT, but if the Reuters report is accurate, it seems regulators have found Microsoft to be in the wrong side of antitrust provisions established over a decade ago.