Microsoft is engaging in unlawful predatory practices that go well beyond the scope of fair competition.

In this statement, Hatch frames Microsoft’s competitive tactics not as aggressive but legitimate market behavior, but as “predatory” conduct that allegedly violates antitrust norms. The phrasing contrasts “unlawful” practices with “fair competition,” implying a boundary between hard-nosed rivalry and actions that distort markets—such as leveraging dominance in one product area to suppress rivals in another. The quote’s significance lies in its use of legal and moral language (“unlawful,” “predatory,” “fair”) to justify regulatory scrutiny and to position the speaker as defending competitive conditions rather than attacking success. It reflects a broader late-1990s/early-2000s public debate over whether dominant tech platforms should be constrained by antitrust enforcement.