Håkon Wium Lie, CTO of Norway-based Web browser company Opera and a past AJAXWorld Conference & Expo speaker, spoke out yesterday as Opera ASA filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft with the EU.

"The browser is more important than ever for accessing all sorts of information for all sorts of people," Wium Lie told a reporter, "and we think that consumers should have a real choice amongst browsers, and it seems like that's very hard to achieve as long as Windows and IE are so tightly tied together."

"We are filing this complaint on behalf of all consumers who are tired of having a monopolist make choices for them," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Opera. "In addition to promoting the free choice of individual consumers, we are a champion of open Web standards and cross-platform innovation. We cannot rest until we've brought fair and equitable options to consumers worldwide."

The complaint filed with the European Commission yesterday is aimed at giving consumers a genuine choice of Web browsers, von Tetzchner said.

"The complaint describes how Microsoft is abusing its dominant position by tying its browser, Internet Explorer, to the Windows operating system and by hindering interoperability by not following accepted Web standards. Opera has requested the Commission to take the necessary actions to compel Microsoft to give consumers a real choice and to support open Web standards in Internet Explorer," he continued.

"Our complaint is necessary to get Microsoft to amend its practices," said Jason Hoida, Deputy General Counsel, Opera."The European Court of First Instance confirmed in September that Microsoft has illegally tied Windows Media Player to Windows. We are simply asking the Commission to apply these same, clear principles to the Internet Explorer tie, a tie that has even more profound effects on consumers and innovation. We are confident that the Commission understands the significance of the Internet Explorer tie and will take the necessary actions to restore competition and consumer choice in the browser market."

Opera believes, Hoida added, that the remedies will help promote consumer rights worldwide and force Microsoft to begin competing with Opera and others on the merits of its browser.