As reported by ZDNet's David Meyer:
Microsoft breaches the Dutch data protection law in the way it processes the personal data of people using the Windows 10 operating system, the country's data protection agency has said.
On Friday, Dutch data protection authority (DPA) the Autoriteir Persoonsgegevens said that Microsoft doesn't tell Windows 10 Home and Pro users which personal data it collects and why. It also said the firm makes it impossible for users to give their valid consent to their personal data being processed, due to the multiple ways in which that data might subsequently be used.
The data watchdog added that Microsoft "does not clearly inform users that it continuously collects personal data about the usage of apps and web surfing behaviour through its web browser Edge, when the default settings are used".
"It turns out that Microsoft's operating system follows about every step you take on your computer. That results in an intrusive profile of yourself," said Wilbert Tomesen, the regulator's vice-chairman. "What does that mean? Do people know about this, do they want this? Microsoft needs to give users a fair opportunity to decide about this themselves."The issue, naturally, is telemetry.
While Microsoft offers users an overview of the categories of data that it collects through basic telemetry, it only informs people in a general way, with examples, about the categories of personal data it collects through full telemetry, the regulator said.
"The way Microsoft collects data at the full telemetry level is unpredictable. Microsoft can use the collected data for the various purposes, described in a very general way. Through this combination of purposes and the lack of transparency Microsoft cannot obtain a legal ground, such as consent, for the processing of data," it said.It's hard to say exactly what effect this will have. When France's data watchdog had issues with Windows 10, Microsoft was able to find a bare-minimum level of compliance which resulted in a closed file, and mostly cosmetic changes to Windows' telemetry, an outcome that they're clearly hoping to replicate (ZDNet's piece quotes Microsoft Windows privacy officer Marisa Rogers as prioritizing compliance with the Dutch data protection law, while sharing "specific concerns with the Dutch DPA about the accuracy of some of its findings and conclusions"), so it could be that very little will actually change this time, either.
But with Windows 10 still struggling to win converts, and signs that Windows 7 users are leaving Windows entirely, for Linux, it's hardly good news for Microsoft that Windows 10's data collection and privacy issues are once again back in the news. They'd clearly hoped that this issue would go away, but since they haven't actually fixed the problem, that may be unlikely.
Hey, Microsoft! Do you want to know what will make this problem go away, completely, and forever? Let people turn the telemetry completely off. If telemetry is opt-in, rather than can't-really-opt-out-but-there's-a-lower-level-of-intrusiveness-available-you-pussies, people will stop complaining about the telemetry system. You might even win some converts amongst dug-in Windows 7 users (no promises, though - those folks have dug in pretty deeply).
Oh, and before I forget.... If you're reading this, then you should be running Spybot's Anti-Beacon, or something similar. Don't forget that Microsoft retconned this telemetry bullshit into Windows 7 and 8/8.1, too, so you should be taking steps to protect your own privacy, regardless of which Windows version you use. Microsoft sure as shit aren't going to.