Satya Nadella himself gets involved in the anti-trust probe to address claims

Aug 28, 2014 08:54 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is having a terrible time in China, where the government is conducting an anti-trust probe that could in the end lead to a new fine for the company, so CEO Satya Nadella is planning to personally get involved in the case and work with officials upon addressing the claims.

Reuters is reporting via sources who asked not to be named for obvious reasons that Nadella will head to China sometime in September, although the reasons for this visit are yet to be disclosed.

Of course, everyone expects Satya Nadella to meet with government officials and discuss several matters related to the on-going investigations, but the aforementioned source also says that Microsoft’s CEO could “try to resolve issues with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC),” which is currently one of the to the three Chinese anti-trust bodies.

Nadella won’t be the first Microsoft executive meeting with Chinese officials, as the company’s Deputy General Counsel Mary Snapp has already discussed with SAIC representatives to address any anti-trust violations that would involve the Redmond-based tech giant.

It has recently emerged that Microsoft might actually be investigated for the way it bundles Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player in its Windows operating system, a matter that has already cost the company $730 million (€580 million) in Europe, after a similar anti-trust case.

In the meantime, the Chinese government does not allow state departments to install Windows 8 on their computers, with some voices close to the matter saying that it’s all because of security concerns that the company could use its software to spy on agencies and steal state secrets for US authorities.

Microsoft has often denied such claims, telling the Chinese government that even though Windows 8 is no longer available, Windows 7 can always be used as a replacement, offering almost the same features, but without any touch capabilities.

“We were surprised to learn about the reference to Windows 8 in this notice. Microsoft has been working proactively with the Central Government Procurement Center and other government agencies through the evaluation process to ensure that our products and services meet all government procurement requirements,” Microsoft said in May, after learning that Windows 8 was banned on government computers.

“We have been and will continue to provide Windows 7 to government customers. At the same time we are working on the Window 8 evaluation with relevant government agencies.”

Microsoft however isn’t the only company that’s facing legal issues in China, as several other top names are also dealing with anti-trust probes, including Qualcomm and car manufacturer Daimler.