Share your operating system bundling tales with the EU

My choice is Debian GNU/Linux, explains FFII Vice president René Mages. Why have I been compelled to pay and erase Windows 7 at purchase time?

The European Commission admits it was aware of the difficulties encountered by consumers who want to purchase a PC with a non-Microsoft operating system or without any operating system at all. But they also say they lack evidence suggesting that this is the result of practices in violation of EU competition rules.

We want to crowd source the collection of evidence, says AFUL's President Laurent Séguin. If the EU finds anticompetitive agreements that foreclose competition or abuse a dominant position on the relevant market, that would be a magic bullet.

Commission Contact

Submission Form: Information on competition problems affecting consumers

Links

Answered Written Question from MEP Jens Rohde (ALDE) to the Commission: The preinstallation of Microsoft Windows
Article 102 on the Functioning of the European Union

Related press releases

EU tells open source to start paying MS patent tax
Microsoft will rump competition ruling with patents

Permanent link to this press release:
http://aful.org/communiques/share-your-operating-system-bundling-tales-with-the-eu

About AFUL (http://aful.org/)

The French speaking Linux and Libre Software Users' Association (AFUL), aims to promote libre software and the use of open standards. AFUL is a non-profit association that gathers users, professionals, companies and other associations based in more than a dozen French-speaking countries and regions (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, French-speaking African countries, etc.).

Partner of many media, AFUL is present at many exhibitions, conferences and meetings. In particular, it has an active role against bundled sales (Workgroup against bundled sales, (Racketware and Non aux Racketiciels, comparative list bons-vendeurs-ordinateurs.info of computer vendors and bons-constructeurs-ordinateurs.info of computer manufacturers), in favor of interoperability (member of AFNOR, participation to Interoperability and accessibility Referentials by DGME, formats-ouverts.org website, etc.), as well as on issues concerning Author Copyrights.

Press contacts:

• Laurent Séguin, President of AFUL, laurent.seguin@aful.org +33 (0)6 63 94 87 16
• Alain Coulais, leader of Racketware WG, alain.coulais@aful.org +33 (0)6 20 61 43 66
• Press - AFUL : presse@aful.org

About FFII (http://www.ffii.org)

The FFII is a not-for-profit association registered in twenty European countries, dedicated to the development of information goods for the public benefit, based on copyright, free competition, open standards. More than 1000 members, 3,500 companies and 100,000 supporters have entrusted the FFII to act as their voice in public policy questions concerning exclusion rights (intellectual property) in data processing.

Contacts presse :

• FFII Office, Malmöer Str. 6, D-10439 Berlin, +49-30-41722597 (Fax Service: +49-721-509663769), office at ffii.org (German/English)
• Benjamin Henrion, FFII Brussels, +32-484-56 61 09 (mobile), bhenrion at ffii.org (French/English)