European Commission

In the wake of the browser choice screen in Europe, Opera Software is reporting a dramatic uptick in browser downloads. The company said more than half the European downloads of Opera 10.50 have come directly from Microsoft's choice screen since early March.

Microsoft used to configure Internet Explorer as the default browser for its Windows operating system, but under pressure from the European Commission, it agreed last October to test-market measures to give Europeans an option to download and install competing browsers like Opera, Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox.

Rivals of Microsoft's market-leading Web browser have attracted a flurry of interest since the company, fulfilling a regulatory requirement, started making it easier for European users of its Windows operating system to switch.

Windows users in Europe will have a slew of Internet browsers to choose from between now and mid-May after the European Commission forced Microsoft to give European Windows Vista, XP and 7 users a choice. The settlement was reached after decade-long battle between Microsoft and the European Commission after Norwegian browser maker Opera filed a complaint.

Microsoft paid more than $2 billion in antitrust fines and agreed to provide users a choice through a browser ballot. European users launching Windows will be greeted with a screen asking which browser they want to install and use.

Opera Software released a new version of its Internet browser Tuesday that the company claims is the fastest Windows-based platform for surfing the web. Called Opera 10.50, the free browser download now sports a sleek and refined design, together with new social-networking capabilities as well as a private browsing feature that hides all traces of the sites that users visit.

Mobile phone operators must now limit how much they charge customers for using the Internet within the European Union, after new rules went into effect Monday.

Customers have until July 1 to set a maximum monthly cost with their network, and those who do not will by default have a euro50 ($68) limit set.

Networks will send a warning when customers use up 80 percent of their allotment. At the limit, they will be cut off.

Mobile phone operators must now limit how much they charge customers for using the Internet within the European Union, after new rules went into effect Monday.

Customers have until July 1 to set a maximum monthly cost with their network, and those who do not will by default have a euro50 ($68) limit set.

Networks will send a warning when customers use up 80 percent of their allotment. At the limit, they will be cut off.

Google's Chrome was the only web browser application to gain global market share last month, with all other major browser platforms showing month-to-month declines, according to Net Applications. Mozilla's Firefox browser -- which had been racking up steady gains at Microsoft's expense through November 2009 -- saw its global market share fall for the third straight month, the web metrics firm reported.

When an Italian court convicted three current and former Google executives for failing to comply with Italy's privacy code, it also created a firestorm of anger from organizations rallying for free expression and an open Internet. The convictions came after three Google executives -- David Drummond, Peter Fleischer and Arvind Desikan -- and one former Google executive, George Reyes, were accused of criminal defamation and breaking privacy laws.

The latest twist in the search-engine wars is revisiting privacy policies. Pressure from the European Commission is behind the latest industry move as Microsoft agreed to rework Bing to discard user data after six months.

Microsoft's Chief Privacy Strategist Peter Cullen framed the change as an ongoing evaluation of the company's Internet search privacy practices. That evaluation, he said, led to the change in Microsoft's data-retention policy that will see the company delete the entire Internet Protocol address associated with search queries at six months.

After more than 10 years of antitrust issues in Europe, Microsoft is finally putting the drama to rest. On Wednesday, the European Commission approved a final resolution of several long-standing competition issues.