Microsoft Tries Strongarm Tactics In China: The Tiger Is Not Happy

Microsoft has recently launched an anti-piracy program that specifically targets Chinese computer users, and Chinese users are furious.

The “Windows Genuine Advantage” program turns the user’s screen black if the installed software fails a validation test. This could mean serious trouble for China’s 200 million computer users since the vast majority are believed to be using counterfeit software, whether they know it or not.

Dong Zhengwei, 35, a Beijing lawyer, described Microsoft as the “biggest hacker in China with its intrusion into users’ computer systems without their agreement or any judicial authority,”

“Microsoft’s measure will cause serious functional damage to users’ computers and, according to China’s criminal law, the company can stand accused of breaching and hacking into computer systems,” he was quoted as saying. “I respect the right of Microsoft to protect its intellectual property, but it is taking on the wrong target with wrong measures. They should target producers and sellers of fake software, not users.”

Microsoft defended it’s program: “The purpose … is to help our customers to determine (if) genuine software is installed on their computers,”

This could cause a huge backlash against Microsoft in the one market it should be trying to cultivate. Microsoft’s strong-arm tactics may work in the United States, where it has huge political influence via it’s army of lobbysts, but the Chinese government works a little differently. I think Microsoft is in for a rude awakening when the Chinese people move toward an open source operating system en masse, and Microsoft realizes it has no political recourse. It’s the wild west out there… or is it the “wild east”.