Mass. Considers Joining Texas' Microsoft Antitrust ProbeInformationWeek Online Posts New Details of a Possible Coalition Inquiry Into the Company's Internet/Online ActivitiesPRNewswire The commonwealth of Massachusetts confirmed that it has been contacted by the Texas attorney general's office and it is considering joining that state's probe of Microsoft's alleged Internet/online antitrust activities, InformationWeek Online (http://www.informationweek.com/) reported today. "We are considering it," a spokesperson for the Massachusetts attorney general's office told InformationWeek. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Connor, Chairman of the Multistate Antitrust Task Force at the National Association of Attorneys General, said several other states have also expressed an interest in joining the probe. According to knowledgeable sources, the focus of the Texas investigation is whether Microsoft is exploiting its dominant position in operating system software to attempt to control electronic commerce over the Internet. Texas is looking at such key areas as banking and airline reservation services. InformationWeek first published details of the Texas investigation on its Web site Tuesday evening. The Texas inquiry looks at similar issues to what the Justice Department is examining in its ongoing probe into Microsoft's Internet/online business practices. Commenting on the role state explorations may play in Federal inquires, Robert Pitofsky, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, told InformationWeek that coordinating federal antitrust investigations with state investigations doesn't have to be a formal process. "We're in touch with [state attorneys general] on a continuing and regular basis," Pitosfsky said. "But collaboration doesn't mean joint investigation, necessarily. It's more sharing of information and theory." InformationWeek provides a complete system of information products for people who manage technology in business, beginning with the weekly magazine, and including: InformationWeek Online (http://www.informationweek.com/), the Web-based resource for the information systems community; the InformationWeek 500 Conference, the annual event for business and technology executives, and InformationWeek Daily, which delivers news directly to the enterprise buyer's desktop. Published weekly by CMP Media Inc., InformationWeek magazine is the premier source of news, strategies, trends and product and technology information for people who manage technology in business. At 350,000 qualified IT buyers, InformationWeek has the largest circulation in the information systems category. CMP Media Inc. provides publishing, marketing and information services to the entire high-technology spectrum--the builders, sellers and users of technology--through print and electronic media. All of CMP's publications and online products can be accessed through the company's TechWeb® site on the World Wide Web (http://www.techweb.com/). Print titles include EE Times, Computer Reseller News, InformationWeek and WINDOWS Magazine. -0- 2/14/97 SOURCE: CMP Media Inc. CONTACT: Steve Rubel, 516-562-7434, or srubel@cmp.com; Leslie Dunbar, |