“The Justice Department and a group of state attorneys
general asked a federal court Friday to split Microsoft into two
separate companies to stem the software giant’s anti-competitive
behavior.“
“The Justice Department and 17 of the 19 states that had filed a
landmark antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft proposed the split in
a joint proposal filed Friday with District Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson. Earlier this month, Jackson ruled that Microsoft had
maintained its monopoly power for PC operating systems by
anticompetitive means and attempted to monopolize the Web browser
market.”
“The joint proposal calls for Microsoft to be split into two
competing entities – one to contain its Windows operating systems,
which run most of the world’s personal computers, and another to
contain the rest of its business lines, including the popular
Microsoft Office suite of applications. Under the proposal, the two
companies would be prohibited from recombining for at least 10
years.”