THE Guangdong Province Higher People's Court today held a hearing of Qihoo's anti-monopoly lawsuit against Tencent.

Qihoo, a provider of free Internet security tools, is seeking 150 million yuan (US$23.8 million) in compensation from Tencent, China's largest Internet company, for using its dominant QQ instant messaging tool to force QQ users to forsake other antivirus and security options including Qihoo 360 suit.

Lawyers from both sides exchanged evidences and examined each other's witnesses during the court hearing.

Earlier this year, Tencent also sued Qihoo for unfair competition and demanded 125 million yuan in damages. The Higher People's Court accepted the case.

The feud between the two Internet giants dates back to 2010 when Qihoo accused Tencent of using QQ to scan user information and urged QQ users to switch to a similar software offered by Qihoo.

"Tencent should not use its monopoly to erode the business of other companies," said Shi Jichun, a law school professor at Renmin University.

Last year, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court upheld a verdict in favor of Tencent as Tencent said Qihoo's software damaged the security setup of QQ and threatened the account safety of QQ users.

Source:shanghaidaily