EU Takes 10 Days To Question Google Privacy Change; After Two Months, Finally Looks At Microsoft&#82

Two months after Microsoft introduced the same type privacy policy changes that Google did, and was attacked by the European Union over, the EU is finally getting around to questioning the Microsoft move.

Microsoft’s change happened on October 19. It was announced with little notice to consumers. Despite allowing for cross-platform sharing in the way privacy changes at Google allowed earlier this year, it attracted virtually no press attention nor that of regulators.

In contrast, Google’s change drew heavy attention the day it was announced and which continued on. Ten days after the announcement, and still well ahead of it actually being implemented, the EU demanded Google halt the changes. Google continued ahead, causing the EU in October to again demand changes or face possible action within months.

I documented this massive difference in reaction to Google and Microsoft for doing the same things in my story from October:

1. Microsoft To Make Same Privacy Change Google Was Attacked For; No One Seems To Care

Now, apparently, the EU does care. Bloomberg is reporting that EU privacy regulators have sent a formal letter to Microsoft saying it will review if the changes expose users to new risks and meets EU notification standards.

About a week after the Microsoft changes went live in October, the EU did say it would examine them but suggested they were somehow far different than Google’s. From the Bloomberg story then:

“This investigation is not at the same level as the probe concerning Google was a few months ago when it changed its privacy policy, where clear privacy issues had been identified,” Lommel said in an interview today. Potential issues with Microsoft’s upgrade “can neither be excluded nor confirmed.”

In the US, no regulatory bodies or public official have expressed any type of concern, that I’ve seen.

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4. Europeans, EPIC Bring More Scrutiny To Google Privacy Changes

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6. Microsoft To Make Same Privacy Change Google Was Attacked For; No One Seems To Care

7. Europeans: Google Privacy Policy Not Illegal But Please Make Some Changes

#eu #Google #privacy #europeanunion #microsoft