Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 8th Aug 2009 09:55 UTC
Earlier this year, the European Commission slammed Intel with a massive fine, penalising the chip maker for its anticompetitive practices. A report by the European Union's ombudsman has now criticised the EC for its conduct, as the EC did not perform proper record keeping, leading to the loss of some evidence. It won't turn the tide for Intel, but it does raise an important question: how fair are these EC antitrust proceedings?
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Member since:
2005-11-05
It's pretty hard to have an opinion on this since the truth of the matter - as distinct from allegations and innuendo - is not known. I think one can say that the law isn't about being "fair", it's about applying the law. Nor is the law necessarily a level playing field. Laws can be rigged for or against wealthy and influential parties, legislators can by bought by lobbyists, judges can be biased and due process is used routinely by all large companies as part of their drive to maximize advantage. This often takes the form of stringing out proceedings not with the aim of winning anything but with the aim of damaging an opponent by preventing them from doing something - or from stopping you doing something - while proceedings drag on for months or years.
So I'd guess that the EU's procedures may be ham-fisted and they may be capable of a lot of improvement. But they are still a lot better than nothing when the alternative is giant corporations running all over us.