Korea no longer requires ActiveX for online sales

Rivals to Microsoft were given a significant victory on Thursday with a ruling in South Korea that opens up financial transactions to browsers besides Internet Explorer. The country's Financial Services Commission has scrapped a 1999 rule that required using ActiveX to verify shoppers' IDs, effectively giving Microsoft a government-backed monopoly over business. The change came after the Korea Communications Commission decided in May that the rule prevented most smartphones owners from buying things online.

The legal change takes effect immediately, but a committee to oversee the transition won't arrive until later this month.

Opening the browser rules is poised to quickly erode some of Microsoft's market share in Korea, as locals will no longer be required to use Internet Explorer, and therefore a version of Windows, to shop online. The browser has lost much of its share in the US and much of Europe, where Chrome, Firefox and Safari now have significant share. Windows Mobile has some level of support for ActiveX, but unlike its desktop counterpart has much less share and has been losing ground to the iPhone, and Android, in Korea.

By Electronista Staff