Oracle: European Commission Fails to Grasp Open Source
Oracle claims that the European Commission's public policy against Oracle's takeover of MySQL runs counter to open source freedom and the growing database market.
Yesterday Sun Microsystems informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about the European Commission's objections against Oracle's acquisition of Sun's MySQL. The Commission's "Statement of Objections" reflects their assessment of the proposed combining of Sun's open source MySQL database product with Oracle's commercial products and the "potential negative effects on competition in the market." Sun said in their short report to the USSEC that the Commission's document is merely a proposal and open for further discussion.
Oracle itself issued a concurrent statement that the commission misunderstood that nobody can control open source. The statement also mentioned six other database providers that provide enough of a competitive market to counter any anti-trust claims in the Oracle-Sun merger as it pertains to MySQL.
According to a Forrester Research study in July 2009, MySQL is the most used database product next to Ingres. Reacting to Oracle's Sun takeover in April, MySQL founder Monty Widenius started an Open Database Alliance together with Percona to protect the open source status of essential MySQL components. Oracle initially refused to commit to MySQL's future and the EU was against the takeover from the beginning. More recently Oracle finally committed itself to promising significant funds to secure MySQL.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.