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Microsoft Complaints Help Russian Gov't Pursue Political Opposition Groups
asaz989 writes "The New York Times reports that Russia selectively pursues software piracy complaints from Microsoft in order to suppress the opposition — confiscating computers for evidence, searching offices, and the like. Microsoft lawyers usually back the authorities in such cases, even when cases such as that of the environmentalist group Baikal Waves, which went out of its way to buy licenses to prevent police harassment and nevertheless had its offices raided, and its computers confiscated. Microsoft participated in this legal process. Published alongside this story, under the same byline, is a related piece on the collusion of Microsoft lawyers with corrupt Russian police in extorting money from the targets of software piracy investigations. In a responding press release, the company states, 'Microsoft antipiracy efforts are designed to honor both [antipiracy concerns and human rights], but we are open to feedback on what we can do to improve in that regard.'"
to open source, this is a prime example. Sheesh!
You know, while I know it's popular opinion to hate on Microsoft on slashdot, doesn't it seem to me that it's the Russian government abusing their own laws in order to screw the opposition, rather than Microsoft sitting there plotting how to hurt people? If it wasn't this, it would be something else.
Just sayin'..
Bring back Clippy! You'll notice a sharp drop in piracy immediately.
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
Third world countries tend to be run by juntas, warlords, oligarchs and strongmen. They're like having the Mafia, except as your official government.
If you want to get anything done in these countries, you make nice with them. Either that, or you have to overthrow them.
This is why the CIA is routinely in bed with horrible people -- these horrible people run the horrible countries where they need to get things done.
Western businesses have taken a massive beating in Russia because everything is corrupt (Russia, as a country with minimal rule of law and an average IQ of 96, qualifies as third-world). They've started to play ball because short of that invasion, it's the only option.
In this case, while Microsoft is doing evil, it's also a necessary evil if they want to do business in Russia.
Futurist Traditionalism
There isn't one reason for NGOs continue to use microsoft software, in fact there are lots of reasons to not use it!
"but we are open to feedback on what we can do to improve in that regard.'"
Of course, such feedback might make you a target but hey...
Microsoft is inherently evil. Like kicking puppies.
In Soviet Russia, Microsoft Helps you!
Usually finds its way into the USA.
The trick could be to have a software license issue appear as a "debtor" issue to a local US court.
Stop using MS products and you can escape the phone home license, summons for the user to appear in court, warrant for arrest cycle.
The idea to show a US trade group that pirated software is a serious issue and suppress the opposition is rather creative.
But like with Nokia Siemens, the truth can surface.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Microsoft executives in Moscow and at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash., asserted that they did not initiate the inquiries and that they took part in them only because they were required to do so under Russian law. After The New York Times presented its reporting to senior Microsoft officials, the company responded that it planned to tighten its oversight of its legal affairs in Russia. Human rights organizations in Russia have been pressing Microsoft to do so for months. The Moscow Helsinki Group sent a letter to Microsoft this year saying that the company was complicit in “the persecution of civil society activists.”
"Copyright as censorship" is not a new idea. In fact, it's what copyright was originally meant to be when it was first devised, and now it's simply returning to its roots. With the far-reaching scope of intellectual "property" today, pretty much anyone can be accused of piracy, and oppressive governments can just pick who they want to target and point their finger.
Companies like Microsoft are just being opportunists (read: "free-market capitalists") -- they know that if they are copyright holders, they have the power to negotiate with governments who are inclined to use copyright as censorship. Who knows what rewards Microsoft will get from the Russian government? Perhaps this is how that official Russian Linux distro was discontinued.
And don't think the Russian government is the only one to do this sort of thing. Hardly! They are guilty of not being subtle about it, but the US government is just as bad. There's even a "Department of Homeland Security" conducting raids in the name of copyright, so yes I'd say we have a serious problem.
On one hand, Microsoft has a right to complain about copyright infringement. Even I will not deny them that. On the other, Microsoft is probably aware of the selective nature of how Russian officials investigate and act on those claims. Should Microsoft, imagining for a moment that they have any sort of conscience, contribute to the oppression of human rights by issuing complaints?
As another pointed out, running Linux and free software on every machine will not quite end the problem. After all, Microsoft has long since campaigned against "naked PCs" and that they are likely to be software pirates unless they were sold with OEM Windows and OEM Office. Their complaints may well be in the form of "they are running PCs but we show no indication that they have licensed any software from us!" That would be reason enough, I suspect, to raid a location or two.
So, I have decided that Microsoft is a willing and complicit tool in this case. They can't not be aware of how their complaints are being used given their selective enforcement nature. And as far as Russian government officials are concerned, we are generally aware of the levels of government corruption within ex-Soviet countries. (I'll grant that the impression of government corruption in Russia is rather "cartoonish" in our understanding which is essentially belief without first-hand knowledge or evidence.) Microsoft should be more careful about issuing complaints. They aren't making examples of software pirates, in these cases, they are just being used as a weapon to "legitimately" attack political opponents.
> My money's on the $5 wrench. [xkcd.com]
Refusal (and therefore, I suppose, inability) to surrender your encryption keys in the UK is a crime. I suppose trying to use some system with deniability might be of use, but given the spirit of that law, I don't see it as an impossibility that the court would merely presume (based on other "evidence") that you have used the deniability features of whatever encryption system is installed, and jail you for not surrendering the (presumed) keys (even if you haven't used those features).
Microsoft is playing a win-win game in Russia (pun intended). First, pirated software invades the market and secures 99% of desktop OS and Office applications markets for them. Then, pressure is being put on government as piracy is cited as one of the top reasons which prevent Russia to join the WTO. Note that it is mostly US government which does the pressure there, not Microsoft. The company is just milking the market while getting rid of pirates which brought them the market in the first place.
The best thing is — little to no MS involvement is needed: pirates will win the market as people would choose something that should cost money over something that shouldn't if both items cost the same. US will put a pressure on Russia anyway (and software sales are good exports too). The government in Russia will eagerly use piracy claims against opposition which they view as Western shills (for them it is using enemy's weapons against the enemy). Last but not least — companies and people will buy MS products as everybody is using them and government is after those who don't buy licensed copies. The business is being done for Microsoft, they just have sit back and collect the money.
I know..... but that's why i think people should stop and think about what they are doing once in a while, instead of using Windows because everyone uses Windows even though it is crap.
People rag on about how weird Richard Stallman is, but he has been correct about pretty much everything.
This shows us exactly why we should NEVER be using software that locks us in and can be used to harm us.
soylentnews.org Go there to enjoy the people!
Why would you pay to use the products of an entity that is blackmailing you? Nobody ever won a war with their customers. Moreover, the message I get from this is that you can steal to your heart's content so long as you are not involved in political activism.
After spending three days trying to teach someone whose Windows XP machine barfed to use Windows 7 and Windows Live Mail all I can say is "Bullshit!" to the learning curve argument. I wager at the end of the day she (and I) would have been further ahead to have thrown Kubuntu on their and used Thunderbird for the mail client.
The best part about Windows Live Mail was when she tried to open some PowerPoint files, and it refused to open them, and I had to go into the registry to alter the class settings to turn "Show" into "Open". Yeah, that's a really easy learning curve there.
The argument may have made some sense even five or six years ago, but the better Linux distros have had hardware detects that are nearly as good as Windows. I haven't had Debian or Ubuntu barf on any of the workstation or server machines I work with in about three years.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Don't be fooled by the article. The Baikal environmentalists are confronting not the interests of the government, but interests of the enterprise owner, a person in the top 100 Forbes list. Read Russians' comments, and see who are they blaming. http://tinyurl.com/25658g4 Overall, dudes, try to speak with the people in Russia, rather than reading about them in your national press. You'll see that real Russians are all but not their depictions in the New York Times articles.
I've heard of many US school systems being forced to pay for expensive audits without any proof of wrong doing and that the Microsoft license agreement they and everyone else has to accept to use Windows allows this. So it does not matter how careful you are to make sure you are legal, Microsoft and a pal( the government ) can use this and be 100% legal since you agreed to it when you said OK to the license.
As for the US schools, Microsoft only stopped doing that once a few of them threw away all their Microsoft software and went with GNU/Linux and open source software and then started spreading the word how much money they were saving doing that. Word was spreading, or was it fear, of what Microsoft was doing so lots of education systems were getting interested in GNU/Linux until Microsoft agreed to stop the audits.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus