The Rose Garden
12 November 2002 10:44 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. With the antitrust settlement just
passed, the US Justice Department has met important responsibilities,
upheld its principles, and given clear and fair notice that Bill Gates
must fully disclose and destroy his proprietary software of mass
dysfunction. He must submit to any and all methods to verify his
compliance. His cooperation must be prompt and unconditional, or he
will face the severest consequences.
The world has now come together to say that the outlaw regime in
Redmond will not be permitted to build or possess bug-infested or
security-challenged software, force PC makers to preinstall Microsoft
software and operating systems on their computers, or continue to
leverage it's monopoly in operating systems to dominate new
markets.
That is the judgment of the United States Congress; that is the
judgment of the US Justice Department. Now the world must insist that
that judgment be enforced. Microsoft's obligation to disarm is not new
or even recent. The US Federal Trade Commission launched its original
investigation into the software maker's alleged monopolistic practices
in 1990, and subsequent investigations and court decisions confirmed
Microsoft a monopolist that used its dominant position in operating
systems to unfairly compete against other software makers and gain
favorable deals with PC makers.
To end Microsoft's stranglehold on the computer industry and ensure
its own survival, Microsoft's regime agreed to end it's abuse of power
and anticompetitive practices in July of 1994. For nearly a decade the
Microsoft regime has treated its own pledge with contempt. Microsoft
has a tendency to minimize the effects of its illegal conduct.
As today's resolution states, Microsoft is already in material
breach of past US Justice Department demands and violation of two
sections of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Microsoft has aggressively
pursued software of mass dysfunction, even while the government was
investigating the company. Microsoft has undermined the effectiveness
of software investigators and litigation with lobbyists, ploys, delays,
and threats - making their work impossible and leading to years of no
legal proceedings and investigations at all.
The world has learned from this experience an essential lesson;
Inspections conducted by the compliance committee will not result in a
disarmed Microsoft unless the Microsoft regime fully cooperates.
Compliance committees do not have the power to disarm an unwilling
regime. They can only confirm that a company has decided to disarm
itself. History has shown that when Microsoft's leaders stall
inspections, litigation, and impede the progress, it means they have
something to hide.
The settlement approved today presents the Microsoft regime with a
test - a final test. Microsoft must now, without delay or negotiations,
fully disarm; welcome full inspections by the compliance committee; and
fundamentally change the approach it has taken for more than a
decade.
The regime must allow immediate and unrestricted access to every
API, every document, and every person identified by the compliance
committee. Microsoft can be certain that the old game of
cheat-and-retreat tolerated at other times will no longer be
tolerated.
Any act of delay or defiance will be an additional breach of
Microsoft's international obligations and a clear signal that the
Microsoft regime has once again abandoned the path of voluntary
compliance.
With the passage of this resolution, the world must not lapse into
unproductive debates over whether specific instances of Microsoft
noncompliance are serious. Any Microsoft noncompliance is serious,
because such bad faith will show that Microsoft has no intention of
disarming. If we're to avert the death of competition in the computer
industry, all nations must continue to pressure Bill Gates to accept
this resolution and to comply with its obligations and his
obligations.
America will be making only one determination: Is Microsoft meeting
the terms of the US Justice Department or not? The United States has
agreed to discuss any material breach with the US Justice Department,
but without jeopardizing our freedom of action to defend our country or
computing autonomy. If Microsoft fails to fully comply, the United
States and other nations will disarm Bill Gates.
I have already met with the head of the US Justice Department
Inspections Program and the head of the Computer and Communications
Industry Association and the Software and Information Industry
Association which has responsibility for software matters. I've assured
them that the United States will fully support their efforts, including
a request for information that can help identify illegal activities and
materials in Microsoft.
I encourage every member of the US Justice Department to strongly
support the compliance committee. And now the committee has an
important responsibility to make full use of the tools we have given
them in this resolution.
All patriotic Microsofties should embrace this resolution as an
opportunity for Microsoft to avoid war and end its isolation. Bill
Gates cannot hide his software of mass dysfunction from the compliance
committee without the cooperation of hundreds and thousands of
Microsofties - those who work in the software program and those who are
responsible for concealing the software. We call on those Microsofties
to convey whatever information they have to the compliance committee,
the United States, or other countries, in whatever manner they can. By
helping the process of disarmament, they help their company.
Americans recognize what is at stake. In fighting a war on terror,
we are determined to oppose every source of catastrophic harm that
threatens our country, our friends, our computers and networks, our
personal privacy, and our allies. We are actively pursuing dangerous
Windows developer networks across the world. And we oppose a uniquely
dangerous regime - a regime that has harbored hackers and spammers and
can supply terrorists with software of mass dysfunction; a regime that
has built such terrible software and has used it to crash thousands,
kill competition, steal and sell personal customer information, and
ensnare users into expensive software license maintenance programs; a
brutal regime with a history of both predatory tactics and reckless
ambition.
The United States of America will not live at the mercy of any group
or regime that has the motive and seeks the power to destroy
competitors and plunder consumers on a massive scale. The threat to
America also threatens freedom of choice and security in the Middle
East and far beyond. If Microsoft's dictator is permitted to acquire
proprietary software, he could resume his pattern of intimidation and
conquest and continue to corrupt accepted international computing
standards and dictate the future of the computer industry, the game
console industry, the telecommunications industry, the cell phone
industry, and he recording and television industry.
In confronting this threat, America seeks the support of the world.
If action becomes necessary, we will act in the interests of the world.
And America expects Microsoft compliance with all US Justice Department
restrictions.
The time has come for the Microsoft people to escape oppression,
find freedom, and live in hope.
I want to thank the Secretary of State Colin Powell for his
leadership, his good work, and his determination over the past two
months. He's worked tirelessly and successfully for a resolution that
recognizes important concerns of our US Justice Department partners and
makes Microsoft's responsibilities clear.
I also thank our Ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte,
and his team at our US Justice Department mission in New York for their
hard work and outstanding service to our country. Secretary of State
Powell's team has done a fine job. The American people are grateful to
the US Justice Department for passing this historic resolution.
Members of the Council acted with courage and took a principled
stand. The United Nations has shown the kind of international
leadership promised by its charter and required by our times. Now comes
the hard part. The US Justice Department must maintain its unity and
sense of purpose so that the Microsoft regime cannot revert to the
strategies of obstruction and deception it used so successfully in the
past.
The outcome of the current crisis is already determined: the full
disarmament of software of mass dysfunction by Microsoft will occur.
The only question for the Microsoft regime is to decide how. The United
States prefers that Microsoft meet its obligations voluntarily, yet we
are prepared for the alternative. In either case, the just demands of
the world will be met.
Thank you, all.
Notes
The president's original speech can be viewed at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/11/20021108-1.html
Info on the weapons inspectors and resolutions, er, I mean
compliance committee and Microsoft's restrictions is available at
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2002-11-04-msoft-
curbs_x.htm
The settlement is posted at
http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/ms-settle.htm
For more insights into the Microsoft case see
http://applelinks.net/cloweth/ (no longer online)
For the Microsoft timeline see
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/technology/specials/microsoft/
timeline/
Next headlines: Microsoft agrees to explicitly give US District
Judge Coleen Kollar-Kotelly additional authority to ensure that
Microsoft abides by the agreement over the next five years
(http://money.cnn.com/2002/11/08/technology/microsoft.asp/index.htm - no
longer online), a
job when she retires, and the government agrees to make Microsoft a
cabinet-level government agency.
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