The Federal Trade Commission has completed its 30-month investigation into the business practices at Microsoft Corp and has decided that the company has engaged in anticompetitive behaviour, according to the December 28 issue of BusinessWeek. It says the investigators are preparing a wide range of recommendations on how to proceed against Microsoft – everything from splitting the company into pieces, to erecting a Chinese Wall between divisions, to altering the way its software is sold to computer manufacturers. If the commissioners vote to proceed against Microsoft, they may move quickly, the magazine says. Agency staffers want the Commission to seek a Federal court injunction barring Microsoft from what they consider abusive practices. Some Wall Street analysts responded in rage to the report, Reuter reports: Even to have a recommendation of splitting up the company is ridiculous, commented Piper Jaffray analyst David Rothschild.
