Russian antimonopoly watchdog probes Microsoft upon complaint from Kaspersky

17:47 10/11/2016

MOSCOW, November 10 (RAPSI) – The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has initiated a probe into US IT giant Microsoft over indications that the company abused its market dominance, the agency reports on its website on Thursday.

The case was opened after Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity company approached FAS complaining that Microsoft had significantly cut the time within which third-party developers of antivirus products should ensure compatibility of their software with Windows 10, from 2 months to 6 calendar days.

Due to the fact that Microsoft itself is a developer of antivirus software Windows Defender, which automatically launches if third-party software had no time to adapt to Windows 10, this decision results in unjustified advantages for Microsoft on the software market, Anatoly Golomolzin, deputy FAS head, commented on the probe adding that a FAS priority was to ensure equal conditions for all participants of this market.