Tougher Terms for Microsoft Were Rejected

The Bush administration said in a court filing that it rejected tougher settlement terms in the Microsoft antitrust case because it feared they would not be effective, might hurt the computer market or take too long to implement.

Among the alternatives rejected by the Justice Department were requirements that: Microsoft license the secret software code for its Windows operating system to computer makers or disclose the code to rival developers; Microsoft be required to include Windows in non-Microsoft products; and that Microsoft be required to sell a stripped-down version of Windows.

According to the filing, the Justice Department decided instead that its proposed consent decree would provide the “most effective and certain relief in the most timely manner.”

The proposed settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge, prohibits Microsoft from retaliating against computer makers and requires disclosure of part of the Windows code to rival software developers.

The settlement has come under fire from antitrust experts and Microsoft rivals, who say it will do little to rein in the software company’s anti-competitive practices.