Chinese anti-trust investigators are targeting Microsoft over the distribution of its Internet browser and media player.
They also believe that its Windows and office sales are not clean in the country,Zhang Mao, the head of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), told reporters at a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
In 2001 , United States and European Union also sued Microsoft on how Microsoft bundled its web browser and media player but it was settled with the US Dept. of Justice around whether it could bundle its flagship Internet Explorer with windows.
In 2004, the European Union ordered Microsoft to pay a 497 million euros ($656 million) fine and produce a version of Windows without the Windows Media Player bundled. The fine was later increased to nearly 1.4 billion euros.
The SAIC has raided Microsoft offices in China and accused the company of being “unwilling to work with investigators”.
The investigation is presently ongoing, and we will disclose the results to the public in a timely fashion
Zhang said, adding that the probe is one of nine opened this year which include the software, tobacco, telecommunications, insurance, tourism and utilities sectors.
This is yet another instance of China targeting U.S. based tech giants, and specially Microsoft. Earlier, China had banned Windows 8 from Chinese govt.’s procurement list, even when Microsoft increased the deadline for Windows XP security updates. Later, China also banned Apple products, from the same list, saying that Apple had never applied for the same.
