Controls eased on MS Passport
Published: 05 Apr 2001 08:03 BST
Microsoft said Wednesday that it plans to revise the "terms of use" policy for its Passport service following criticism that the agreement gives the software behemoth Draconian control of customer communications.
The company is facing scrutiny over a major new software initiative dubbed "HailStorm" that will build on 2-year-old Passport and other Microsoft technologies to create a new method of delivering software applications over the Internet. Passport is a single sign-in service that gives consumers a key for multiple Web sites. Among other things, HailStorm has been billed as way to widely manage personal data as consumers operate computer applications.
"Unfortunately, they're old terms of use that we're obviously updating," said Microsoft spokesman Tom Pillow, who added that the terms of use will be changed "to reflect the (site's) privacy statement" in the next day or two.
Privacy advocates have expressed outrage at the current terms of use for Passport, which apparently grant Microsoft enormous control over customer communications, contradicting the site's privacy policy.
According to the terms of use, "by posting messages, uploading files, inputting data, submitting any feedback or suggestions, or engaging in any other form of communication with or through the Passport Web Site, you... are granting Microsoft and its affiliated companies permission to: Use, modify, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, publish, sublicense, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any such communication."
Deborah Pierce, staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), said that despite Microsoft's intended changes, the terms of use bring up the issue of trust.
"Why should I trust this company with managing all of my personal data? When I see terms of service that basically gives them control over my personal information and potentially the content of messages, that doesn't instil confidence or trust in me for their new service," she said.
The terms of use for Passport, which has 160 million customers, also give Microsoft authorisation to "sublicense to third parties the unrestricted right to exercise any of the foregoing rights granted with respect to the communication" and "publish your name in connection with any such communication".
"The foregoing grants shall include the right to exploit any proprietary rights in such communication, including but not limited to rights under copyright, trademark, service mark or patent laws under any relevant jurisdiction," the terms of use state. "No compensation will be paid with respect to Microsoft's use of the materials contained within such communication."
That the terms of use and privacy policies went relatively unnoticed for nearly two years underscores widespread disregard for such policies, which are often written in legalese and run several pages long. In many cases, only the most tech-savvy or privacy-conscious are reading such guidelines, often after hunting them down at the bottom of company Web sites or raising the font size for readability. Many times, Web visitors simply don't notice or fear site policies that in theory are designed to protect consumers as well as companies.
Microsoft's Pillow said the company has different terms of use and privacy policies for each service in the MSN Network, including Hotmail, Passport and an instant messenger. He said that each policy is approved by Truste -- a privacy policy auditor -- and written with consumer's notice and consent in mind.
EFF's Pierce speculated that in the event of a court case under the current terms of use, Microsoft could show consumers would be bound by the varying policies. However, she was unmoved by Microsoft's claims that the policies had escaped review before the HailStorm announcement was made.
"They should have looked at this before they put out a press release for HailStorm," she said. "They should have examined all the terms of use for all the affected pieces of this project, like Passport and Hotmail, to make sure they're all internally consistent. It was very sloppy."
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