Lawyers for the nine states called for tough penalties to control what they see as Microsoft’s “thuggish” tactics in the market. Microsoft described the states’ proposals, which include revealing its source code to rivals, as “truly disastrous.”
Judge Kollar-Kotelly is expected to make her decision late summer 2002. She must decide whether to approve the settlement deal reached among Microsoft, the Department of Justice and another nine states, or impose the sanctions sought by the pursuing states, or find a middle ground.