Kaspersky Lab has asked the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office to investigate whether Microsoft is in compliance with competition law and not abusing its dominant position in the market for solutions against computer threats. Kaspersky last year filed a similar complaint with Russian competition watchdog FAS. That complaint has yet to receive a decision.
Kaspersky believes that with the release of Windows 10, Microsoft created obstacles to competing manufacturers of security software, and introduced different ways of pushing users to forgo third-party software in favour of its own Windows Defender. The company said that Microsoft’s actions not only go against competition law but also reduce customer online safety and freedom of choice.
Specifically, Kaspersky said that Microsoft violated competition law by launching public appeals and recommendations to replace an already installed (competitor) security software with its own product. The company would have also mislead users as to the consumer properties and qualities of Windows Defender in its advertisements. In addition, Microsoft would have made it difficult to upgrade, download or install a competitor software defense programme.
Microsoft is also accused of providing the final build of the new version of its operating system (RTM) only a few days before public release, instead of two months as done previously. Kaspersky said manufacturers need two months to test their products and make necessary changes to ensure compatibility with the new operating system. Testing also sometimes shows errors in the operating system itself. The two months therefore also gave Microsoft the time to patch these up. The shorter release time therefore may have reduced user protection.
In addition, Kaspersky said that moving to a new version of Windows 10 deletes third-party security software, making it unusable. Although Microsoft does inform users of the need to download compatible security software, the message is barely noticeable, which leads users to the loss of the previously paid-for license for the program.
Finally, Kaspersky said that the inability for users to fully disable or remove Microsoft’s Windows Defender violates their right to decide which applications to install and run on their devices.
