Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft May be Lying to Dissociate Itself from Kyrgyzstan Fiasco

Kyrgyz Manaschi, Karakol



Summary: Agents previously hired by Microsoft or working on Microsoft’s behalf have indeed shut down independent media using claims of Microsoft software counterfeiting

LAST WEEK we wrote about what Microsoft did in Kyrgyzstan, noting in part that Microsoft continues to assist suppressive and/or corrupt regimes like the one in China [1, 2].



Microsoft's PR drones were posting comments, mostly spinning and denying what was originally reported in Forbes. Well according to Jeffrey Carr from Forbes, who looked deeper into the issue, "Microsoft Denial On Kyrgyzstan Censorship Conflicts With The Facts" and here is why:

A further investigation into who this association is and who Microsoft's local lawyer reveals facts that conflict with the accuracy of Microsoft's statement. The lawyer is Sergey Pavlovsky (see here, here), and he is the President of the "Association of Rights Holders of Intellectual Property Protection", a Kyrgyz organization; the President - not merely a "technical advisor". Pavlovsky is also the Co-Chair (.pdf) of the IT Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Kyrgyz Republic. In other words, he's a big player in the world of anti-piracy in that region of the CIS.

In December, 2007 representatives from Microsoft signed an agreement with Pavlovsky's association to represent Microsoft in matters relating to copyright infringement and the discovery of such infringement via confidential online technology.

In January, 2010, Pavlovsky discusses the problems associated with enforcement of copyright violations in the Kyrgyz republic, one of which is that the copyright holder (i.e., Microsoft) needs to initiate a case with the Financial Police.


There is more coverage about it which refers to Carr's new claims.

As Jeffrey Carr reported on his Forbes’ blog today, Microsoft later said that “the raid against Stan Media was initiated by the Kyrgyz police without any involvement from any Microsoft employees or anyone working on Microsoft’s behalf.” The company acknowledged that personnel involved in the Stan TV raid had represented Microsoft in previous “enforcement actions.”

As president of the Kyrgyz Association of Rights Holders of Intellectual Property Protection, Pavlovsky has frequently spoken in the region on behalf of companies like Microsoft. In 2007, he spoke of his work detecting and pursuing the users of pirated Windows software. Kyrgyz law requires that a copyright holder initiate a complaint before financial police will investigate.

CPJ has documented previous occasions in the former Soviet republics in which authorities used Microsoft’s name in pursuing independent media. In November 2007, the Samara edition of award-winning Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta was effectively shut down due to accusations that the company was using unlicensed Microsoft software.


The key part is one which says that "The company acknowledged that personnel involved in the Stan TV raid had represented Microsoft in previous “enforcement actions.”" To Microsoft, the latest denial is likely to be an exercise in PR, but it is not exactly working. It did manage to censor some news sites though, so the story was not reported as widely as it ought to have been reported.

"Geeks like to think that they can ignore politics, you can leave politics alone, but politics won't leave you alone."

--Richard Stallman

Recent Techrights' Posts

Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
 
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Seem to Have Had Only One Litigation Client in 2025, He Was Previously Charged, Just Like the Serial Strangler From Microsoft (Whom They Now Represent)
Karma is superstition, regulators are not
Project 2030 to Cover How "Project 2025"-Styled Anti-Media Zealots From America Targeted Techrights and Tux Machines
The common denominator is also their attacks on women
Brett Wilson LLP Failed to Meet Deadlines Set by Judge 7 Months Earlier, Tried to Ruin Our Holiday, Then Had the Audacity to Ask Us for Over 3,000 Pounds for Its Own Lateness
As a matter of principle we will never respond to assassin while we are on holiday
On Claims That After Bluewashing Red Hat Will Increasingly Become an Indian Company
Discussed this week (long and detailed)
Americans Attacking British Sites Only Months After They Leave America
We find it kind of funny if not ironic that this site, originally an American site, got legal harassment only from Americans and only months after it had moved to the UK
Despite Losing Over a Quarter Million Dollars a Year Software in the Public Interest (SPI) Gives Helping Hand to Libreboot
SPI's financial state depends a lot on its public image or its reputation
Slopwatch: Google Helps Plagiarism and Sends Traffic to Ripoff Artists
That Google as a company helps spamfarms is noteworthy
If You Want to Know the Future, Listen to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Andy Farnell
We're sure the FSF will have plenty of its own output
Links 18/09/2025: A Taliban Ban on Internet Access and Troubled US Job Market
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2025: Computer Literacy and Accessing Alhena's Database
Links for the day
Links 18/09/2025: US War on Media (Truth Banned, Cancel Culture by the Hard Right), NYT Chief Executive Warns Cheeto is Deploying ‘Anti-press Playbook'
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 17, 2025