By Paul Mozur
BEIJING--China's powerful state-run television broadcaster
criticized Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8 operating system in a
national news show on Wednesday, adding to the software maker's
challenges in a traditionally tough market.
In its widely watched noon news broadcast, China Central
Television aired a segment that questioned the operating system's
security. It quoted people it identified as experts who said that
an operating system's maker can obtain user data including phone
numbers and bank-account information.
"Whoever controls the operating system can control all the data
on the computers using it," it said.
It also quoted Chinese experts who argued that Microsoft
cooperated with the U.S. government to carry out cyberspying. That
has been a sensitive topic in China since the disclosures last year
by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden
about U.S. cyber-monitoring efforts.
The report followed a May announcement from China's Central
Government Procurement Center that the government couldn't purchase
computers loaded with Windows 8.
A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment on the broadcast. He
referred to a previous statement from the company's general
counsel, Brad Smith, which laid out the steps Microsoft has taken
to prevent government snooping and protect customer data.
The decision to ban procurement of Windows 8 came more than a
month after Microsoft officially pulled the plug on providing
support for its aging but widely installed Windows XP software.
Still, it patched a security hole for Microsoft's Internet Explorer
browser for XP users in the weeks after the announcement.
Companies like Microsoft could face further backlash in China.
The U.S. and China have clashed in recent weeks after the U.S.
indicted five officers in the People's Liberation Army on
allegations of cyberespionage. In response, China said it would
more closely scrutinize imported Internet technology for
vulnerabilities it might pose to the nation's security.
China has long had the stated goal of weaning itself off
foreign-produced technology. Experts say friction following Mr.
Snowden's leaks has already hurt sales for companies like Cisco
Systems Inc. and International Business Machines Corp.
Still, China lacks know-how in specialized areas such as
software, high-end servers and certain types of mission-critical
equipment, experts say. For example, if China were to switch to a
homegrown operating system, it would have a hard time replacing
Microsoft's Office suite of software, which is used by businesses
and local governments across China.
The difficulties for Microsoft come as the company is trying to
push more users in China to switch to a licensing system for
Windows that operates from servers. The hope is that will help
Microsoft cut down on the rampant piracy of its operating system in
China.
Widespread piracy of Windows and Office software means that
Microsoft earns far less in China than it does in smaller
countries, even though it has a massive presence in what is the
world's largest personal-computer market. In 2011, then-Chjef
Executive Steve Ballmer told employees in a meeting that
Microsoft's revenue in China was only 5% of what it got in the U.S.
even though the PC markets were comparable in size at the time.
While its broadcasts aren't necessarily representative of the
views of top leaders, CCTV wields considerable power in China. Some
companies have shifted policies or recalled products following
critical CCTV reports.
Write to Paul Mozur at paul.mozur@wsj.com
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