Mozilla given voice in Europe's Microsoft case

Mozilla has been granted a seat at the table in the European Commission's antitrust case against Microsoft, an EC source said Tuesday.

Mozilla requested and was granted "third-party status", which entitles the organisation behind the popular Firefox browser to receive access to confidential documents in the case and the ability to voice objections, the source said.

In mid-January, the Commission formally put Microsoft on notice, objecting to the bundling of the Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.

The Commission's decision, which initially stemmed from a complaint filed by rival browser maker Opera, gives Microsoft two months to respond to the allegations, as well as opening the case up to third-party involvement.

Mozilla was not immediately available to comment but Mitchell Baker, Mozilla's chair, commented on the case in her blog on Friday. She wrote that she agrees with the Commission's allegations that tying IE to the Windows OS harms competition for web browsers and reduces consumer choice.

She also wrote: "There are separate questions of whether there is a good remedy, and what that remedy might be. But questions regarding an appropriate remedy do not change the essential fact. Microsoft's business practices have fundamentally diminished (in fact, came very close to eliminating) competition, choice and innovation in how people access the internet."

Original article: Mozilla to weigh in on EU's Microsoft case from CNET News.com