Jon von Tetzchner

Internet browser maker Opera Software of Norway won an early round in its antitrust battle against Microsoft on Friday when the European Commission issued its preliminary finding that Microsoft's inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows violates European competition laws by giving its browser an unfair advantage.

The preliminary finding, known as a statement of objections, resulted from a complaint Opera filed against Microsoft in late 2007. Microsoft has eight weeks to respond, and the company can request a hearing before the EU makes a final determination. Microsoft said in a statement that it's studying the EU's findings.

In an interview, Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner discussed the EU case and Opera's motivations for pursuing it. Read on for excerpts.

Q: How do you feel about the EU's preliminary finding?

Von Tetzchner: Basically they are saying that they believe Microsoft has abused its position, and that it is important to provide choice in the browser market. This is why we filed the complaint. The Internet is just too important to limit the choice in browsers. It's very clear that Microsoft's tying the browser to the operating system has limited choice in browsers for end users. I don't think anyone would argue that Microsoft would have as high a market share in the browser market if it didn't tie it with the operating system. Now we hope that this will mean that there will be choice, and that people will be trying alternative browsers more.

Q: What ultimately would you like the remedy to be? What do you want to happen?

Von Tetzchner: Our focus has been in providing choice. That choice can be done by decoupling the browser, which may be a little bit difficult at this time. Alternatively, providing a choice in browsers can be done by including multiple browsers with the operating system or providing a list of potential downloads, for example. In addition to that, we have also focused on the importance of Microsoft following standards.

Q: Standards weren't the focus of the EU's public statement. Were they addressed in the statement of objections?

Von Tetzchner: We haven't seen it. I need to read it first. We believe this is also an important factor, but we have to see what the commission has chosen to do.

Q: In the European market, according to some analysts, IE actually has far less market share than it does in other parts of the world, like the United States. Based on that, how are you asserting this claim?

Von Tetzchner: There's a number of comments. One question would be, would Microsoft have the market share that they have if it hadn't been for the tying. Two, obviously there is a question of whether the stats are correct. ... I think you'll find that they'll be skewed maybe toward consumers and less so toward business. ... But overall, we do believe that, if there was a free choice, Microsoft would not have been able to not work on their browser for six years and still maintain their market share.

Q: When you look at what Firefox has done, especially in Europe -- they're upwards of 30 percent, according to the data I'm looking at, and Opera is around 5 percent -- some people might look at what you're doing as sour grapes. How would you respond to criticism like that?

Von Tetzchner: I think the real question is, do you want to have a choice in browsers? Obviously any remedy here will benefit Firefox equally to us, and anyone else. I think they would have even higher market share if there was a free choice in the market. I think the important thing is that end users should have choice. For us that's what this is about.

We as a company, we're doing quite OK. We've been growing 40, 50 percent every year since the company was founded. In the space of mobile and devices, we're leading the way. On the desktop side, we're not. ... That doesn't mean that we have not been making some good progress. Our financial figures are available and we've been having significant progress even on the desktop, but I have to say, our market share would be a lot higher if the market had been totally open.

Q: We talked way back when you launched Opera 9 here in Seattle, but you were not yet at the point where you were willing to talk about taking antitrust action against Microsoft. What changed?

Von Tetzchner: Clearly the Windows Media case. (In which the commission ordered Microsoft to sell a version of Windows without Windows Media Player.) When that case was very clear in its statement, we believe that the browser is, if anything, a clearer case. We felt compelled to do what's necessary to provide choice.

To me, if you think about it, the Internet is just too important. If you think about the changes that are happening in the world, that you would risk having a single choice of browsers, that's a terrible world, isn't it?

Q: Bill Raduchel, Opera's chairman, was Sun Microsystems' chief strategy officer back when it was involved in its own antitrust challenge with Microsoft. Has he influenced your decisions, or your thinking, and to what extent is he playing a role in pursuing this case in Europe?

Von Tetzchner: This is something that's primarily driven by management. Obviously he's informed of our actions.

Q: Anything else you want to get across?

Von Tetzchner: This is a good day for the Web. Hopefully the commission will follow through with this, all the way. The Web is too important to be limited in browser choice. Hopefully this will ensure that there will be greater choice into the future.