Microsoft Promises Not To Snoop Through Email 144
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft took some much-deserved flack last week for admitting they examined the emails of a Hotmail user who received some leaked Windows 8 code. The company defended their actions at the time. Now, after hearing the backlash, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith says they will not do so in the future. Instead, they'll refer it to law enforcement. He wrote, 'It's always uncomfortable to listen to criticism. But if one can step back a bit, it's often thought-provoking and even helpful. That was definitely the case for us over the past week. Although our terms of service, like those of others in our industry, allowed us to access lawfully the account in this case, the circumstances raised legitimate questions about the privacy interests of our customers. ...As a company we've participated actively in the public discussions about the proper balance between the privacy rights of citizens and the powers of government. We've advocated that governments should rely on formal legal processes and the rule of law for surveillance activities. While our own search was clearly within our legal rights, it seems apparent that we should apply a similar principle and rely on formal legal processes for our own investigations involving people who we suspect are stealing from us.'"
Re:Scroogled (Score:0, Informative)
Wasn't scaremongering about Google reading your email part of their stupid ad campaign?
The stupid thing about that is Gmail just uses adsense, i.e. a Javascript program scans the page for keywords then requests relevant ads from the ad server based on keyword frequency. It's the same ad system used everywhere you find adwords, but apparently finding out that adwords was applied to email content was an earth shaking discovery.
Re:Translation: (Score:5, Informative)
And PlaysForSure?
Re: Translation: (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Translation: (Score:5, Informative)
A employee doesn't have the same rights as a non-employee, they play by a different set of rules. That Microsoft changed their privacy policy was for those who need to be spoon fed, or see Microsoft as their sugar daddy.
The fuss isn't over the employee's email being read. It's about the email of a blogger who is *not* associated with MS (other than using a Hotmail account) being read.
Re: Translation: (Score:5, Informative)
Its made them look stupid since the beginning. Whatever minor nitpicks they have with Google, Google stood up to China's demands for outing dissidents. Microsoft has actively engaged with them, assisting in spying (TOM Skype), turning over dissident info, and censoring Bing. Their privacy policy has generally been WORSE than Google's, to boot, and they have a history of being anticompetitive / anti-standards and monopolistic.
If microsoft wants to gloat and feel big because they dont use the same sort of email keyword tagging as gmail, go for it. I just know that when it comes to trusting SkyDrive or Bitlocker when it comes to evading totalitarian governments, youd have to be absolutely out of your mind.