[Infowarrior] - Microsoft to publish its privacy rules

[Richard Forno]

Microsoft to publish its privacy rules

By Joris Evers
http://news.com.com/Microsoft+to+publish+its+privacy+rules/2100-1029_3-60875
38.html

Story last modified Fri Jun 23 16:51:02 PDT 2006

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Microsoft plans in August to publicly release the
privacy rules its employees have to follow when developing products.

The move, which offers a look behind the scenes at Microsoft, is meant to
give the industry an example of what the software giant sees as best
practices in customer privacy, said Peter Cullen, the chief privacy
strategist at Microsoft.

"We think that this is information that partners and others could benefit
from. Lots of people build and develop applications," Cullen said in an
interview Thursday. "The privacy development standards will not only be made
public, but we will actively be promoting their use so that others can
benefit from what we've learned."
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The privacy rules offer guidelines on providing people with proper
notification and options in certain situations--for example, when a software
application is about to send information via the Internet to its maker,
Cullen said. Microsoft believes it is the first major software company to
publish these guidelines.

"This is designed for an IT pro or a developer, in terms of: 'If you're
building an application that does X, this is what we think should be
built,'" he said. "The public document will use a lot of 'shoulds.' Inside
Microsoft, those are 'musts.'"

While the release of the guidelines will likely not have any immediate
effect on consumer privacy, it is a positive development, privacy watchers
said.

"Microsoft is advancing the dialog about how privacy issues are addressed by
the technology providers," said James Van Dyke, an analyst at Javelin
Strategy & Research. "This will force other technology firms to similarly
comply, rebut or propose alternative positions, all of which will move us
closer to deciding acceptable use of private information through
technology."

The company has a single, global privacy policy, Cullen said. This means
that the same policy applies even in countries that have limited or no
privacy regulation.

Microsoft's privacy reputation is not untarnished. Earlier this month, it
faced criticism for not disclosing that one of its antipiracy tools, called
Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications, pinged the company every time a PC
was booted up. Microsoft has offered a public mea culpa and has said it will
adjust the frequency of the calls home.

"We have a basic promise that we will be as transparent as possible," Cullen
said. "We neglected the area of the notifications, so that's definitely
going to be changedŠIt's just an oversight."

Some of Microsoft's practices are impressive and commendable, but others are
badly bungled, said Ben Edelman, a spyware researcher and Harvard doctoral
candidate. He supports Microsoft's plan to publish its privacy standards for
developers.

"It's a fine idea," he said. "It would be easier to endorse if we could be
more confident that Microsoft's own house is in order, which is suddenly a
subject of some worry after the WGA issues."

(Return to CNET News.com next week for the full interview with Microsoft's
Cullen.)


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