http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000068380aug23.story Lobbyists Tied to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters August 23, 2001 By JOSEPH MENN and EDMUND SANDERS, TIMES STAFF WRITERS Letters purportedly written by at least two dead people landed on the desk of Utah Atty. Gen. Mark Shurtleff earlier this year, imploring him to go easy on Microsoft Corp. for its conduct as a monopoly. The pleas, along with about 400 others from Utah citizens, are part of a carefully orchestrated nationwide campaign to create the impression of a surging grass-roots movement. But it may be backfiring. [...] ********* For Immediate Release Contact: Adam Bromberg,/ August 23, 2001 Suzanne Bakri, or Danielle McDonald 703-683-5004 OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIA VOTERS WANT AG LOCKYER TO SETTLE MICROSOFT CASE WASHINGTON, DC -- A statewide survey of California voters commissioned by Americans for Technology Leadership (ATL) finds that an overwhelming number of California voters believe that the state should seek to settle the three year running case against Microsoft. "California voters are sending a clear message to Attorney General Bill Lockyer and regulators in Washington, DC that it's time for this case to come to an end" said Jim Prendergast, ATL's Executive Director. The survey of 800 California voters contacted between July 26 and 30 finds that 65 percent of registered voters believe that the federal government and state attorneys general should settle the case or drop it altogether. Only 22 percent feel the state should stay involved. After intense lobbying from Microsoft competitors - America Online, Sun Microsystems, and Oracle, -- the Clinton Justice Department brought an antitrust suit in 1998. D.C. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled against Microsoft and ordered the break up of the company. A recent decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down most of Judge Jackson's decision to breakup Microsoft and drastically limited the scope of the case. The ATL survey also showed that California voters overwhelmingly believe that the current case against Microsoft should not be expanded to prevent the company from shipping its newest product - Windows XP - as some have proposed. 76 percent of California voters believe that Microsoft should be able to distribute the product, while 80 percent said that the state attorneys general should not stop the shipment of Windows XP. "Clearly, Californians feel strongly that the case against Microsoft should certainly not be expanded or prolonged. With the technology sector playing a key role in the country's economy, now is not the time to hinder economic growth brought about by innovative technology products," Prendergast said. Americans for Technology Leadership is a broad-based coalition of technology professionals, consumers, and organizations dedicated to limiting government regulation of technology and to fostering competitive market solutions to public policy issues that affect the technology industry. For additional information on ATL, please visit the web site at www.techleadership.org. For a complete copy of the statewide survey, or for more information please contact Adam Bromberg, Suzanne Bakri, or Danielle McDonald at (703) 683-5004. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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