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.
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.
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.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
