FC: Dead people write pro-Microsoft letters to governors; ATL poll

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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-





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