The NYT reports:
Microsoft instituted a policy on Friday that gives the company broad leeway over how it gathers and uses personal information from consumers of its free, Web-based products like e-mail, search and instant messaging.
Almost no one noticed, however, even though Microsoft’s policy changes are much the same as those that Google made to its privacy rules this year.
In the teaser on the front page, they say:
The difference in reactions to policies at Google and at Microsoft illustrates confusion around Internet privacy.
Okay, not "no one," literally. But pretty much no one who is nerd enough (a) to stay abreast of such things as companies' changes to their data collection and retention policies and (b) have a platform to gripe about these things.
(pic. source: KYM, uploader: Oclaf)
2 comments:
Hey! I've got two Hotmail acc'ts. One established for me by an employer in 2002 or '03, so she wouldn't have to print crap to distribute to the flunkies, & which I still use to interface w/ squares, the gummint, yada, as it has my legal (if not real) name on it, & one I set up for myself soon after which gets right-wing loon mail & the like. I doubt if I've sent anything from it since someone invited me to gmail whenever.
Not to mention the Yahoo!/SBCGlobal acc't. that came w/ AT&T Internet (I really should look at that one of these days) & my late mother's Yahoo! acc't., to which I still have the password, as I had to do all her e-mailing for her.
It seems obvious: revenue stream. The big ones they have now are Windows and Office, and people are finding they can live without.
It was a given that Google would be doing that, given that what they sell is their users.
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