Summary
- A person is suing Microsoft over ending Windows 10 support, arguing it will jeopardize millions of users.
- The plaintiff demands support until Windows 10 holds less than 10% market share to prevent users from being stranded.
- Microsoft is accused of monopolizing the market by pushing users to buy new devices with Windows 11, which some PCs cannot upgrade to.
With Windows 10 falling out of support in mid-October, people have been preparing for the occasion. Some are planning to use Microsoft’s extended support plans to get an extra year for their PC, while others will change operating systems. Some of the latter group will force Windows 11 on their computer, while others will use an alternative operating system, such as Linux.
However, one person wants to make it so that people won’t need to do anything whatsoever. They’re suing Microsoft over handling Windows 10 and demanding that it extend support until people have begun moving away from the operating system.
Microsoft is being sued over Windows 10’s end-of-support date
In an article on Courthouse News Service (thanks, Neowin!), a plaintiff called Lawrence Klein is taking Microsoft to court. They own two laptops, both of which run Windows 10 and cannot upgrade to Windows 11. They argue that once the cutoff date comes around, his devices will become obsolete, and accuse Microsoft of “[monopolizing] the generative AI market” by pushing people toward purchasing new Windows 11 PCs with NPUs in them.
Klein made the following statement:
With only three months until support ends for Windows 10, it is likely that many millions of users will not buy new devices or pay for extended support. These users — some of whom are businesses storing sensitive consumer data — will be at a heightened risk of a cyberattack or other data security incident, a reality of which Microsoft is well aware.
In other words, Microsoft’s long-term business strategy to secure market dominance will have the effect of jeopardizing data security not only of Microsoft’s customers but also of persons who may not use Microsoft’s products at all.
Klein goes on to lay out the terms they want Microsoft to obey. Basically, Klein argues that Microsoft should continue supporting Windows 10 for all users at no additional cost until the market share for the operating system falls below 10%. At that point, Klein concedes that Windows 10 will have fallen out of enough favor to justify Microsoft pulling the plug on it; however, with Windows 10 currently holding 43% of the share, Klein argues that that’s far too many people to leave stranded without ways to continue support without bowing to Microsoft’s demands.
If the lawsuit doesn’t go through and Microsoft sticks to its original plan, people will either need to use Windows Backup, spend 1,000 Microsoft Points, or pay $30 to get security updates for another year. However, people who want to extend support and keep using local accounts are in for a nasty surprise.