Russia probes Microsoft over alleged competition law violations

Russia has launched a case against U.S. IT giant Microsoft over alleged violation of the country's competition law, Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said on Thursday.

Anatoly Golomolzin, deputy head of the anti-monopoly watchdog, said Microsoft was suspected of violating the Russian law on the protection of competition for misusing its dominant position in the Russian software market.

The investigation was prompted after Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab accused Microsoft of making the Russian anti-virus manufacturers unable to compete with Microsoft by reducing from two months to six days the adaptation time of Russian anti-virus software producers in its latest Windows 10 operating system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been urging state entities and local companies to use domestic software out of concerns over security and reliability.

According to Nikolay Nikiforov, Russia's Minister of Communications, the Russian government has produced a list of nearly 2,000 Russian software products that state-run companies should use instead of foreign brands. Endit