14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s problems in China continue, this time with a statement coming from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), which warns the Redmond-based tech giant to stay away from its investigation and wait for a decision in the case.
In a statement that was published on Monday by Reuters, SAIC says that as part of the anti-trust probe it also questions Microsoft’s lawyer, Deputy General Counsel Mary Snapp, who paid a visit to the headquarters of China’s regulator this week.
It appears that Microsoft has already discussed with investigators on a possible involvement in the case and, according to SAIC officials, the company has expressed its intention to cooperate with SAIC and provide the necessary documentation for the investigation.
“Microsoft promised to respect Chinese law and fully cooperate with the SAIC's investigation work,” a SAIC spokesperson was quoted as saying.
A couple of weeks ago, SAIC investigators raided several Microsoft offices in China, seizing documents and computers that were considered to be evidence for a possible new anti-trust investigation.
Microsoft might be violating China’s anti-monopoly law, prosecutors said, with people familiar with the matter claiming that the whole goal behind this case is to support local companies as they invest in industry sectors dominated by US firms, including the operating system business.
Back in May, the Chinese government decided to ban Windows 8 on state computers without any clear reason, with Microsoft executives themselves saying in several statements that this restriction came basically out of nowhere.
The Redmond-based software giant however expressed its intention to work with Chinese officials on addressing any claims, explaining that while Windows 8 was banned, Windows 7 would remain available for this entire time to anyone who’d like to stay up to date with the latest software versions of the company.
“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. 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,” a company spokesperson said in a mail statement.
As you can see, Microsoft itself doesn’t talk too much about this new anti-trust probe in China, so information is quite limited right now, but more details should be unveiled soon as the investigation goes forward.