The data collecting activities of Windows 10 has landed Microsoft in trouble against. Investigating the telemetry built into the operating system, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has said that Microsoft’s spying is a violation of local privacy laws.
The data collecting activities of Windows 10 has landed Microsoft in trouble against. Investigating the telemetry built into the operating system, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has said that Microsoft’s spying is a violation of local privacy laws.
Of particular concern to the authority is the fact that users are not clearly told that data will be collected in both Windows itself and Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft’s web browser gathering data about every URL that’s visited by users who have not opted out of telemetry, and Windows 10 itself sucking up detailed information about app usage, the DPA is concerned that users are not adequately informed or protected.
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The DPA — the latest European authority to take exception to Microsoft’s activities — says that there are more than 4 million Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro devices in the Netherlands. It notes that users are not informed about data collection properly, nor are they told about how the data will be used. This places Microsoft in violation of the Dutch data protection law.
The DPA says:
The authority is calling on Microsoft to make changes to telemetry settings, or the company could find that it faces sanctions in the Netherlands. Wilbert Tomesen, vice-chairman of the Dutch DPA, says:
Microsoft is understandably clean to resolve the matter, with Windows and devices group privacy officer Marisa Rogers saying that the company is willing to work with the DPA to get things sorted out. She says:
But Microsoft is not entirely happy with the investigations carried out by the DPA. While the company does not elaborate on what it disagrees with, Rogers says:
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