EU’s Message: Anybody Else Feel Lucky?

The European Commission’s announcement of $732 million in sanctions against Microsoft is an inevitable and expected comeuppance for the software giant’s failure to comply with the terms of an antitrust settlement requiring it to offer consumers a choice of Web browsers. But it’s also a warning to other companies with which the agency has regulatory issues — one in particular. Google.

As EU competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia said today, “Legally binding commitments reached in antitrust decisions play a very important role in our enforcement policy because they allow for rapid solutions to competition problems. Such decisions require strict compliance. A failure to comply is a very serious infringement that must be sanctioned accordingly.” A pat explanation for the EC’s sanctions against Microsoft, but also a clear “feeling lucky, punk?” warning to Google: Don’t make empty promises. Because the financial implications can be staggering: Fines of up to 10 percent of the company’s annual global sales. In Google’s case that’s potentially billions of dollars.