A complaint filed by cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky Lab has forced Russian Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS) to launch investigation into Microsoft’s alleged abuse of its dominant position in the market. It follows moves by the Russia government to restrict Microsoft's activity, including blocking Linked-in.
According to the application filed by Kaspersky and approved by FAS, Microsoft has created competitive advantage for its own anti-virus software and subsequently excluded competing security software manufacturers, causing their inability to fully comply with the obligations towards users. As a consequence, Microsoft’s competitors have been put in a position in which they might incur financial losses.
Kaspersky also stresses that it has a long-term and successful partnership with Microsoft and has decided to appeal to the legal bodies in various countries after months of unsuccessful negotiations carried out directly with Microsoft which failed to finally resolve the situation. The anti-virus specialist says that it has started filings with the European Commission and the Federal Antimonopoly Services of the Russian Federation.