The state of Massachusetts has expressed concerns that
Microsoft's plans to enter the increasingly lucrative search engine
market could represent its latest abuse of a dominant market
position, according to media reports.
It appears that the state – the only one that held out against
settling the long-running antitrust battle with the software giant
– this week lodged a filing with the US District Court for the
District of Columbia.
State Attorney General Thomas Reilly warned in the filing that
the settlement reached between the US Justice Department and
Microsoft in 2002 is not working to restore competition. He said
that his state is investigating concerns that if the next iteration
of Windows, currently known as Longhorn, incorporates a search
engine, as Microsoft has said it will, it could amount to a new
abuse of its desktop dominance.
