Sen. Orrin Hatch Press Release.
Re: Judiciary Committee Schedules Another Microsoft Hearing.
Date: July 16, 1988.
Source: Senate Judiciary Committee.

News Release
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
United States Senate - Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SCHEDULES SOFTWARE INDUSTRY HEARING

Washington, D.C. Warning that policy makers must be attentive to the threat that a single firm might be poised to monopolize a broad swath of the U. S. software industry and indeed much of the Internet itself Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) today announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its inquiry into competition in the Digital Age, and has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, July 23, on "Competition in the Digital Age: Beyond the Browser Wars."

At the hearing, the Committee will hear from a number of leading software industry innovators and CEOs on the current status of, and prospects for, competition and innovation in various segments of the software industry.  With the help of accomplished and respected industry figures, the Committee hopes to learn more about the future direction of business and Internet-related software and the extent to which competition and innovation may he suppressed by existing and/or potential monopoly power, and to consider what basic principles of fair competition are necessary to facilitate continued growth and innovation in this important industry.

"I believe we need to look beyond the so-called 'browser wars'," Sen. Hatch said. "With respect to competition and antitrust in software related markets, the Committee, the Department of Justice, the bipartisan coalition of State Attorneys General, and the media to date have focused largely on the battle between Microsoft and Netscape. Notwithstanding the important consequences of the browser wars, we should not allow preoccupation with this particular issue to prevent us from examining broader and more current issues which could have significant long-term consequences for the ability of U.S. consumers to reap the rewards of a competitive and innovative software industry, and the continued growth of a free and open Internet."

"With every day we are coming to live and to work in an increasingly networked, technology driven world," Hatch stated. "In the next century, it is likely that we will depend to a great extent on the Internet, intranets, and other Internet-related technologies to communicate with one another, to conduct our businesses, to obtain news and entertainment to teach our children, and to purchase goods and services. All this will be made possible by the software which allows us to interconnect with, and share information over, this ever expanding network. And there is little question that Microsoft, which now controls the PC software market is seeking to extend its desktop monopoly in effect to control these other technologies and, to a large extent, the network itself. As a government and as a society I think we must give close scrutiny to the nature, extent and ramifications of this development, and I believe this hearing will be an important step in this ongoing process."

A witness list will be released when finalized.