After Microsoft reached a 2001 settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and several states over its antitrust violations, nine states — including California, Massachusetts, Iowa and Connecticut — plus the District of Columbia refused to sign, arguing the deal was too weak to curb the company's conduct. They pressed for tougher remedies, including stricter oversight of Microsoft's contracts. In November 2002, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly approved a final judgment that largely mirrored the federal settlement and declined to impose the broader restrictions the dissenting states sought. Critics argued the outcome let Microsoft off lightly given that courts had found it an illegal monopoly.