What China wants, China gets. Where Microsoft is concerned, this involves an explanation due in 20 days covering issues about the Windows operating system and the Office suite.
Microsoft is being given 20 days by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) to explain certain issues about its operating system and Office suite program, a Chinese antitrust regulator said Monday. The deadline was relayed in a meeting which Microsoft vice president David Chen attended according to a statement posted on the SAIC website.
This is in line with the agency's probe investigating Microsoft's alleged monopolistic activities, a charge that foreign firms commonly receive from the Chinese government. The SAIC also used this opportunity to repeat its suspicions that Microsoft is not fully disclosing issues affecting its operating system and office program.
Antitrust laws are new in China, but the government has taken quick strides to ensure its implementation. Unfortunately, this has resulted into closer scrutiny for Western companies in the last six years, most especially after Edward Snowden's revelations about the National Security Agency's spying activities.
The SAIC, however, oversees issues that do not involve pricing or mergers, like possible production agreements and other ways companies can affect the Chinese market.
According to state-controlled news agency Xinhua, the probe was prompted by complaints from other businesses that Microsoft was using verification codes and tie-in sales with the Windows operating system and Office suite in such a manner that antitrust laws may have been potentially broken.
Microsoft counters this, however, saying that the company has strictly adhered to relevant rules and laws in China. It adds that it has also been actively cooperating with the investigation the SAIC is conducting.
Verification codes are not unusual, used by software companies as a common measure against piracy. The codes come with legitimate copies of the software, entitling customers to continuous support and updates from the manufacturer.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had told employees in the past that the company makes less revenue compared to other parts of the world like the Netherlands, no thanks to software piracy. Current CEO Satya Nadella is scheduled to visit China for the first time after taking over for Ballmer later in the month.
Over the last few weeks, Chinese officials launched surprise inspections at Microsoft's offices in the country, seizing emails and other evidence in the process as well as speaking to company executives.
