Hi °C | Lo °C 
Microsoft was fined €561m by European Union regulators for violating the terms of a settlement to give users a choice of web browsers aside from its Internet Explorer.
Today’s fine -- about 1pc of the company’s 2012 revenues -- brings to €2.24bn the penalties faced by Microsoft in its EU antitrust clashes over the past decade, including an €899m fine for failing to obey an order to share data with competitors.
“A failure to comply is a very serious infringement that must be sanctioned accordingly,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in an e-mailed statement.
The software company was fiend for breaking a promise to offer consumers using its Windows system a choice of rival Internet browsers.
EU rules mean the company could have been penalised $7.4bn or 10pc of its fiscal 2012 revenues although regulators are not expected to levy such a high fine.
