China targets Microsoft with anti-monopoly investigation

Chinese officials arrived unannounced Monday at four of Microsoft's offices in China, reportedly as part of an anti-trust investigation. On Tuesday, a Chinese regulator made an official statement that it is launching an anti-monopoly investigation into Microsoft Corp.

Reuters reports that the investigation was launched because officials suspect Microsoft has "not fully disclosed information about its Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software." China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce (SAIC) is investigating Microsoft's vice president and senior managers.

According to Reuters, the SAIC has already obtained emails and documents from Microsoft's computers and servers. The company has been suspected of violating anti-monopoly laws in China since June 2013.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

As Quartz notes, China's domestic operating systems haven't been met with much success, and Microsoft is an "easy target." In May, China's government banned Windows 8 from government computers. While the investigation could lead to serious penalties for Microsoft, "regulatory pressure could result in lower costs for Chinese users, and also encourage Beijing's efforts to break foreign firms' stranglehold over crucial technology infrastructure," according to Quartz.