30 November 2009
With the web providing access to entertainment, banking and even healthcare, EU citizens are increasingly spending more time online. We have grown to rely and trust the internet to help us get on with our daily lives. However, the internet will fail to achieve its full potential if people lose faith in the way we protect people’s privacy and the information we share online. As a global leader, Microsoft’s success depends on our customers having the ability to responsibly manage and protect their data.
Privacy by Design
Rapid technological developments and globalisation have brought new challenges for the protection of personal data. At Microsoft, we have welcomed and are welcoming these new challenges – they push us to innovate to ensure that our customers in Europe and across the globe are protected. To that end, we have worked hard to ensure that all of the company’s products, services, processes and systems incorporate measures designed to help protect user privacy.
Multiple heads are better than one
To facilitate a learning and cooperative environment that benefit customers and citizens alike, Microsoft is a strong advocate for multi-stakeholder cooperation. We constantly work closely with regulators, industry and civil society organisations to develop responsible business practices and strengthen national and international legal frameworks for data protection and privacy. We believe in learning and support collective efforts in finding clarity and consistency in governing the online world.
Knowledge + Tools = Power
Privacy and data protection regulation must provide robust protection to users. Companies are constantly deploying smarter tools and processes to keep user information safe. However, personal user responsibility must be supported by companies, legislators and civil organisations as well. Microsoft has deployed tech-tools (like InPrivate browsing embedded within our IE 8 web browser, granular content sharing settings in Windows Live, strict anonymisation practices used by our Bing search engine) and user-friendly information (like making our privacy statements and privacy tips accessible to our customers) to help empower our consumers online.
Beyond technology
Microsoft’s commitment to consumers extends to more than providing technology tools. Within the EU, we support the annual Safer Internet day by running different programmes across the EU. In addition, we are constantly developing the way we share information with our customers via online blogs and tutorials on how to keep personal data safe.
Read our blog posts on Privacy: