On September 11, The
New York Times reported on the
use of aggressive anti-piracy raids by Russian authorities to intimidate
advocacy groups and independent media outlets. The article noted that these raids are usually prompted by false reports of pirated Microsoft software, sometimes from individuals claiming to represent Microsoft. This is a trend that CPJ has documented for some time. We've
recorded incidents of independent outlets like
Novaya Gazeta,
Tolyatinskoye Obozreniye,
Minuty Veka, and Kyrgyzstan's STAN TV having offices shut down and computers seized on the orders of lawyers claiming to be acting for Microsoft, even when the companies' software licenses are in order and shown to the investigators.