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The case was eventually settled,<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/503541/dl "Final judgment of US v. Microsoft"] - justice.gov - accessed 2025-01-29</ref><ref>[https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/373/1199/474311/ "Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ex Rel., Appellant, v. Microsoft Corporation"] - law.justia.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> and did not result in a company breakup.<ref>[https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/long-antitrust-saga-ends-for-microsoft/ "Long antitrust saga ends for Microsoft"] - seattletimes.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref>
The case was eventually settled,<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/atr/case-document/file/503541/dl "Final judgment of US v. Microsoft"] - justice.gov - accessed 2025-01-29</ref><ref>[https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/373/1199/474311/ "Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ex Rel., Appellant, v. Microsoft Corporation"] - law.justia.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> and did not result in a company breakup.<ref>[https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/long-antitrust-saga-ends-for-microsoft/ "Long antitrust saga ends for Microsoft"] - seattletimes.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref>


Section III.H of the Consent Decree<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/atr/microsoft-consent-decree-compliance-advisory-august-1-2003-us-v-microsoft "Microsoft Consent Decree Compliance Advisory - August 1, 2003 : U.S. V. Microsoft"] - justice.gov - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> required Microsoft to "allow end users and OEMs to enable or remove access to all middleware products­, including web browsers, e-mail clients, and media players ­through a readily accessible, centralized mechanism." End users and OEMs should be able "to specify a non-Microsoft middleware product as the default middleware product to be launched in place of the corresponding Microsoft middleware product."  
Section III.H of the Consent Decree<ref>[https://www.justice.gov/atr/microsoft-consent-decree-compliance-advisory-august-1-2003-us-v-microsoft "Microsoft Consent Decree Compliance Advisory - August 1, 2003 : U.S. V. Microsoft"] - justice.gov - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> required ''Microsoft'' to "allow end users and OEMs to enable or remove access to all middleware products­, including web browsers, e-mail clients, and media players ­through a readily accessible, centralized mechanism." End users and OEMs should be able "to specify a non-Microsoft middleware product as the default middleware product to be launched in place of the corresponding Microsoft middleware product."  


In the case ''United States v.'' Microsoft Corp'''''.''','' 87 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000),<ref>[https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/87/30/2307082/ "United States v. Microsoft Corp., 87 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000)"] - law.justia.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> Microsoft's conduct taken as a whole was described as a "deliberate assault upon entrepreneurial efforts that, could well have enabled the introduction of competition into the market for [[Intel]]-compatible PC operating systems". Further, "Microsoft's anti-competitive actions trammeled the competitive process through which the computer software industry generally stimulates innovation and conduces to the optimum benefit of consumers."
In the case ''United States v.'' Microsoft Corp'''''.''','' 87 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000),<ref>[https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/87/30/2307082/ "United States v. Microsoft Corp., 87 F. Supp. 2d 30 (D.D.C. 2000)"] - law.justia.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> Microsoft's conduct taken as a whole was described as a "deliberate assault upon entrepreneurial efforts that, could well have enabled the introduction of competition into the market for [[Intel]]-compatible PC operating systems". Further, "Microsoft's anti-competitive actions trammeled the competitive process through which the computer software industry generally stimulates innovation and conduces to the optimum benefit of consumers."
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===Edge===
===Edge===
''Microsoft Edge'' is a ''[[Chromium]]''-based web browser that comes preinstalled with Windows 10 and later. It is the successor to ''Internet Explorer''.
''Microsoft Edge''(''Edge'') is a ''[[Chromium]]''-based web browser that comes preinstalled with Windows 10 and later. It is the successor to ''IE''.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+
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!Aftermath
!Aftermath
!Related Article
!Related Article
|-
|Illegal monopoly of web browser market
| - 2001
|Bundled ''IE'' and ''Windows'' restricting competitors like ''NetScape''. U.S. Court of Appeals ruled they had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, leading to a settlement requiring sharing APIs with third parties
|The case set precedents for antitrust enforcement in tech, influencing later cases against other dominant firms
|
|-
|International
|2004 - 2013
|Faced EU penalties for bundling ''Media Player'' and ''IE''
|Paid EU antitrust fines
|
|-
|Restrictive software licensing
|2015 - 2025
|UK lawsuit alleging inflated software prices by blocking resale of preowned licenses and pushing subscription models like ''Microsoft 365''(''365'')
|Ongoing. ''Microsoft'' denies these "unsubstantiated" allegations.
|
|-
|Resetting primary browser
|2017 – Present
|Windows has frequently been resetting the default browser to ''Edge''<ref>[https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/default-browser-keeps-changing-to-edge/25e2939d-4674-40ab-b05a-6161e2297976 "Default Browser Keeps Changing to Edge"] - answers.microsoft.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> without consent.<ref name=":1" /> While there are methods to disable this,<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/15zbjar/default_browser_keeps_changing_to_microsoft_edge/ "Default browser keeps changing to Microsoft Edge after every PC restart. Win 11, tried everything"] - reddit.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> it is tedious to achieve, especially for users who are not tech-savvy.
|Continues to happen
|
|-
|-
|Inability to delete
|Inability to delete
|2018 – Present
|2018 – Present
|During major updates for Windows, users have been reporting their installations of Edge being reinstalled to their devices without their consent.<ref>[https://www.windowscentral.com/how-prevent-microsoft-edge-chromium-installing-automatically-windows-10 "How to prevent new Microsoft Edge from installing automatically on Windows 10"] - windowscentral.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref>
|During major updates for ''Windows'', users have been reporting their installations of ''Edge'' being reinstalled to their devices without their consent.<ref>[https://www.windowscentral.com/how-prevent-microsoft-edge-chromium-installing-automatically-windows-10 "How to prevent new Microsoft Edge from installing automatically on Windows 10"] - windowscentral.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref>
|No change
|No change
|
|
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|Importing content from other browsers without consent
|Importing content from other browsers without consent
|2020 – ?
|2020 – ?
|Users have reported on frequent occasions that Edge has imported user data from browsers such as Chrome and Firefox without first requesting consent from the user.<ref>[https://www.komando.com/news/microsoft-edge-caught-importing-data/ "Microsoft caught importing data before you give the OK"] - komando.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref><!-- Could we get another source added here? -->
|Users have reported on frequent occasions that Edge has imported user data from browsers such as ''Chrome'' and ''Firefox'' without first requesting consent from the user.<ref>[https://www.komando.com/news/microsoft-edge-caught-importing-data/ "''Microsoft'' caught importing data before you give the OK"] - komando.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref><!-- Could we get another source added here? -->
|Unknown if it still occurs<!-- Hey can someone verify if it still is happening? -->
|Unknown if it still occurs<!-- Hey can someone verify if it still is happening? -->
|
|
|-
|-
|Resetting primary browser
|Anti-competition allegations
|2017 – Present
|2024 - 2025
|Windows has frequently been resetting the default browser to Edge<ref>[https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/default-browser-keeps-changing-to-edge/25e2939d-4674-40ab-b05a-6161e2297976 "Default Browser Keeps Changing to Edge"] - answers.microsoft.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> without consent.<ref name=":1" /> While there are methods to disable this,<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/15zbjar/default_browser_keeps_changing_to_microsoft_edge/ "Default browser keeps changing to Microsoft Edge after every PC restart. Win 11, tried everything"] - reddit.com - accessed 2025-01-29</ref> it is tedious to achieve, especially for users who are not tech-savvy.
|UK lawsuit alleges ''Windows Servers'' users were overcharged when using non ''Azure '' cloud services
|Continues to happen
|Ongoing
|
|-
|Removal of ''365'' features to push ''Copilot''
|2025
|Eliminated key search features in ''365'', forcing users to pay $30/month for ''Copilot'' access, sparking backlash from businesses and educators
|The FTC and DOJ are reportedly investigating, with Elon Musk alleging antitrust violations in its ''OpenAI'' partnership
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|}
|}
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