With a last-minute onslaught of PR-department fueled "last chance to upgrade for free" stories flooding the 'net, coverage of CNIL's stark warnings to Microsoft about the seriously deficient privacy package that comes with Windows 10 have been somewhat drowned out in the news cycle, so it's heartening to see that some are determined to link the two stories into the single narrative that they should be. Por ejemplo, Gordon Kelly at Forbes:
July is a huge month for Microsoft because it marks the end of free Windows 10 upgrades. But it also coincides with serious new warnings issued about the operating system…
The warnings come directly from France’s National Data Protection Commission (CNIL) which has accused Microsoft of using Windows 10 for “collecting excessive data and tracking browsing by users without their consent”.
The CNIL also claims Microsoft collects “irrelevant or excessive data”, does not have “satisfactory measures to ensure the security and confidentiality of user data”, does not abide by the European Union’s ‘Safe Habour’ rules because it stores user data outside their home country without consent and damns the company for the lack of user consent Windows 10 provides as it enables so many data tracking features by default.
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The timing of the investigation couldn’t be worse for Microsoft as free Windows 10 upgrades will end on July 29th and a late surge of upgraders has been expected. Whether the findings of the CNIL will hinder this globally remains to be seen, but it certainly won’t be comforting to users still sitting on the fence.
The news also overshadows the impending launch of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which is packed with useful upgrades, and is also timed to tempt users to migrate from Windows 7 and Windows 8 before the deadline.
The big question is now whether the actions of the French authority will trigger similar declarations from other countries. Something that would prove a public relations nightmare for Windows 10 around the world.(Emphasis added, of course.)
It's good to see a masthead with some significant giving space to some due diligence on the intersection of these narrative threads: #upgradegate and its fallout; the desperate last push of Microsoft's GWX campaign; and the imminent Anniversary Update which is meant to dangle extra carrots in front of reticent Windows 7 hold-outs. At first blush, these may seem like unrelated stories, but they're very definitely related. Some good work by Kelly, here, to connect the dots, especially in this last week of GWX, when Microsoft would clearly love for the prevailing story to by about just really anything else.