The European antitrust regulator imposed a record $1.35 billion fine against Microsoft on Wednesday in a ruling intended to send a clear message to the world’s largest software maker — and to any other company — of the dangers of flouting Europe’s competition rulings.
The size of the penalty, which surprised lawyers and legal experts, was a clear assertion of the power of the European Commission and its main antitrust regulator, Neelie Kroes, who is its competition commissioner. She has emerged from a lengthy legal battle with Microsoft as possibly the world’s most activist regulator.
The dispute with the commission has cost Microsoft more than $2.3 billion in fines.
Google, which has a dominant share of the market for Internet search and its related advertising, also faces a tough examination of its proposed acquisition of Doubleclick, an Internet advertising company.