THE Guangdong Province Higher People's Court yesterday started hearing Qihoo 360's lawsuit against Tencent, which seeks to stop the latter from exploiting its monopolistic position in the market.

Qihoo is demanding 150 million yuan (US$23.8 million) in compensation from Tencent and claimed the latter intends to use its dominant position in the instant messaging market and force users to download Internet security tools, which is an impediment to fair competition.

Qihoo said yesterday that evidence showed Tencent has included "QQ software manager" together with an upgrade package with the QQ instant messenger, forcing users to install the security tool and this act is against the Antimonopoly Law.

Shi Jichun, a professor at the law school of Renmin University, said: "Tencent should not use its monopolistic position to harm other players' business interests."

Tencent refuted the accusation that its market position is dominant, saying there are several other similar service providers in the market.

Earlier this year, Tencent, China's largest Internet company, countersued Qihoo for illicit competition and asked for 125 million yuan in compensation. The Guangdong Province Higher People's Court has accepted the application.
 

Source:shanghaidaily