Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO and Microsoft Collude to Break the Law -- Part IX: Know Your Vendor…

Previous parts:



A big brother-like spy
The never-ending saga of Microsoft's run-ins with European data protection authorities



Summary: Microsoft is one of the world's worst offenders when it comes to privacy, but vendor assessment by the EPO conveniently overlooks the law

Even before GDPR came into effect in May 2018, data protection regulators in some European countries were starting to have their doubts about whether Microsoft's flagship product, its Windows operating system, was compliant with European data protection standards.



The first national authority to kick into action was the French National Data Protection Commission (CNIL).

Following an investigation which concluded in June 2016, CNIL issued Microsoft with a formal notice to comply with French data protection regulations. CNIL also ruled that the decision should be made public, given the scale of the violations in question.

"Following an investigation which concluded in June 2016, CNIL issued Microsoft with a formal notice to comply with French data protection regulations. CNIL also ruled that the decision should be made public, given the scale of the violations in question."No fewer than six violations of the French Data Protection Act were identified by CNIL, including continued transfer of data based on Safe Harbor principles despite the fact that the Safe Harbour Agreement had been invalidated by the CJEU in October 2015.

Microsoft was given three months – until 30 September 2016 – to end the identified violations of French Data Protection law or else face the prospect of a fine of up to €150,000.

In June 2017, it was reported that Microsoft had scaled back the volume of data it collected from Windows 10 PCs by "almost half". This led CNIL to announce that Windows 10 was no longer in breach of the country's data protection laws and that it had decided to close the case.

But that was only the first chapter in the never-ending saga of Microsoft's run-ins with European data protection authorities.

"Microsoft was given three months – until 30 September 2016 – to end the identified violations of French Data Protection law or else face the prospect of a fine of up to €150,000."A few months later in October 2017, it was reported that the Dutch data protection authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) had come to the conclusion that Microsoft was in breach of Dutch data protection law due to the way it processed the personal data of Windows 10 users.

According to the Dutch data watchdog, Microsoft made 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 Dutch regulator noted that Microsoft had promised to end its "violations", but warned that a failure to do so could lead it to impose a sanction.

After some back and forth with the regulator, Microsoft submitted a revised version of its software in April 2018. However, in the course of testing the revised version the Dutch agency found fresh grounds for concern, discovering what it called in a press release "new, potentially unlawful, instances of personal data processing".

"After some back and forth with the regulator, Microsoft submitted a revised version of its software in April 2018. However, in the course of testing the revised version the Dutch agency found fresh grounds for concern, discovering what it called in a press release "new, potentially unlawful, instances of personal data processing"."In the meantime GDPR had entered into force, and this led the Dutch data protection authority to refer its concerns to the competent lead EU privacy regulator under the new regulations. This was the national data protection authority where Microsoft's regional HQ for the EU is located, namely the Irish Data Protection Commission.

And so the seriously under-resourced Irish DPC added the Microsoft GDPR non-compliance case to an already long list of files concerning the cross-border data processing activities of multiple tech giants which had accumulated on its docket since the GDPR came into force in May 2018.

According to the most recently available reports from May 2020 the Microsoft case is still pending before the Irish Data Protection Commission.

The situation in the Netherlands became even hotter for Microsoft with the decision of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security in 2018 to commission a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to be carried out on a range of Microsoft products, including Office 365.

"The situation in the Netherlands became even hotter for Microsoft with the decision of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security in 2018 to commission a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to be carried out on a range of Microsoft products, including Office 365."The DPIA was commissioned because this was a clear-cut case of data processing on a large scale (by 300,000 government employees) which involved personal data, including data that could be potentially used to track the activities of employees.

The aim of the exercise was to assess the extent to which Microsoft's Office Online and the Mobile Office Apps could be deployed in a GDPR-compliant manner by Dutch government organisations.

The scope of the investigation included the five most commonly used Office 365 applications – Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel and Microsoft Teams – in Office Online and the Mobile Office apps, in combination with the use of cloud storage services.

The final report [PDF], which was published in November 2018, identified a number of serious data protection risks, in particular the following:

● Loss of control over the use of personal data; ● Loss of confidentiality; ● Inability to exercise rights; ● Re-identification of pseudonymised data; ● Unlawful (further) processing.

It was noted that effective risk mitigation was outside of the users' control and could only be carried out by Microsoft.

"It was noted that effective risk mitigation was outside of the users' control and could only be carried out by Microsoft."The investigation found an unacceptable lack of control by users over the processing of personal data by Office 365 mobile applications. Because of this government organisations were advised to create policies for their employees stating that they were not to use mobile Office 365 applications.

As we shall see in the next part, the investigation by the Dutch authorities into the GDPR-compliance of Microsoft products prompted the European Data Protection Supervisor to announce its own investigation into Microsoft products used by EU institutions.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Lies Need to be Corrected
the Court never invited us
Slopwatch: Guardian Digital (linuxsecurity.com), Slashdot, Google News, and More
Maybe one day, once the bubble pops completely, Google News will just outright delist all slopfarms
Lufthansa Modern Slavery, Joerg Jaspert (ganneff) & Debian NSB Softwareentwicklung charade
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/10/2025: US Starting More Trade Wars With China, CIA War on Venezuela
Links for the day
SUSE Blog is Still LLM Slop, Marketing Manager at SUSE Cannot Write
Would you buy from a company or seek support from a company that cannot even write (or fakes writing)?
Pretend You're Not Dead: Microsoft Spent Almost Two Decades Rebranding Things as "Cloud, Then "AI", Now "XBox" and "Quantum"
"AI" bubble pops, Microsoft harping about "quantum" already
IBM Allegedly Found New Tricks for Silent Layoffs: LPI, Then MIS (Not PIP)
Remember that "Red Hat layoffs" won't be reported after the bluewashing
Links 16/10/2025: Red Lines and Feeding of Microsoft Trolls
Links for the day
MIT as a Propaganda Mill of GAFAM, Paid by GAFAM
"the news" today
Links 16/10/2025: Lies Euphemised as ‘Dueling Versions of Reality’ and Microsoft "Open" "Hey Hi" Resorts to Porn as No Business Model Was Found
Links for the day
The Local Staff Committee Munich (Representation of the EPO's Staff) Explains When Cluster of Pregnancies May Result in Reduced Pay
"...even one week of part-time working is sufficient to reduce the salary you perceive during the entirety of your maternity leave."
Another Black Eye for 'Secure Boot', Microsoft Media Tries to Blame "Linux"
It enables Microsoft to remotely control computers, even computers that don't run Windows and never had any Microsoft software installed
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT, linuxsecurity.com, and Various Slopfarms in Google News Attacking "Linux"
A new survey of the Web said that the majority of the Web is now slop (that's being said in the news this week)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 15, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Links 16/10/2025: Increased Use of Social Control Media Surveillance in US, French Rage Over Pensions
Links for the day
Links 15/10/2025: Qantas Airways Loses Control of Sensitive Data and Software Patents Are Being Thrown Out
Links for the day
Vista 10 is 'Dead', Here's Why People Should Move to GNU/Linux (or the BSDs)
Today we try to make an outline of reasons move away from Windows to GNU/Linux
Our Sites Continue to Improve
LLM slop has had no noticeable impact on us
Gemini Links 15/10/2025: Neovim, Helix Compared and Gemlog.blue Now Closed
Links for the day
Links 15/10/2025: Mass Layoffs at Amazon, OneDrive Spyware Revved Up, More 'Gen Z Protests'
Links for the day
The EPO's Staff Engagement Survey 2025 is Already Tainted by Intimidation by EPO Management (Trying to Influence Outcomes by Scaring Genuine, Honest Critics)
"[W]e have received reports that, following the previous survey, teams with negative responses were reproached or questioned about their answers..."
The DDoS Attacks by Microsoft's Scam Altman and Other Slop Charlatans and Frauds is Hurting the FSF, Delinking It From Copyleft Projects
This impacts a lot more than access to the licences
Microsoft Scanning Faces in Photos People Upload to Microsoft (Even Unconsciously), Slashdot Turns Report About It Into "Microsoft Sez" (Says)
Or "let's repeat the lies from a PR person/Microsoft's publicist"
[Teaser] Angel Aledo Lopez the Manipulator (Nepotism, Poll Rigging, and Other EPO Corruption)
We'll discuss this later today or tomorrow, based on internal EPO material
Attacks on Techrights Are Only Making Techrights Bigger and Even More Popular
A week ago they offered to settle with us
Epic Metaphor for End of IBM: "The IBM Demolition is Down to the Last Shards!"
Nothing lasts forever
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 14, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Proprietary and DRM Prisons Spiralling Down the Sinkhole? Not Just Yet.
Let's hope that more people will flee to GNU/Linux
The European Patent Office (EPO), the Second-Largest Institution in Europe, is Cracking Down on Recreational Activities
Without AMICALE activities, and as staff already says it's pressured to work more for less, how can the EPO recruit bright people?
Transparency: FSFE financial reports exclude speaker fees and expenses
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Many Developers Have Many Political Views, They'll Never Agree on Everything
It's an effort to divide and destroy, not build
Gemini Links 14/10/2025: An Opportunity to Consider GNU/Linux and Another Simple IRC Client
Links for the day
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT, LinuxSecurity, Google News, and the Serial Slopper Brian Fagioli
Nothing of merit here, just more slop
Links 14/10/2025: Lack of Trust in Slop and "Retirement Challenges"
Links for the day
EPO Staff Can Go Listen to Richard Stallman Next Week in Munich (Technical University of Munich, Rudolf-Diesel Hörsaal (MW2001) on Campus Garching at 18:00)
"The talk is open to the public and attendance is free. Registration is not required."
Rhonda D'Vine, Gerfried Fuchs, Pronouns & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
At IBM, Relocation Means Layoffs (Downsizing)
Silent or 'invisible' layoffs?
Central Staff Committee of the European Patent Office (EPO) Warns That EPO Management is Robbing or Manipulating Pension Funds Again
Faking "growth" is just about as bad as forgery
Probably a Lot Worse Than LLM Slop: GNOME Tying Itself to Divisive Politics, Even Where It's Clearly Not Relevant
Something has gone terribly wrong in GNOME
Links 14/10/2025: Microsoft OneDrive Scanning Faces in Photos (Without Asking First), "OpenAI Says It Will Move to Allow Smut"
Links for the day
They Generally Don't Like Scholars, as They're Less Compelled or Pressured to Repeat What Corporations and Oligarchs Say
People who loathe scholars have an agenda in mind that, unlike that of reasonable people, revolves around controlling people
Dystopian Trends in Technology Make Richard Stallman More Relevant Than Ever
It's good to see him attracting vast audiences
Belated New Article About Last Thursday's Lecture by Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
there are good reasons to pay with cash, not limited to privacy
Attacking Richard Stallman Has Become 'Career Suicide'
If you're going to viciously attack somebody, make sure your arguments are rock-solid
Microsoft's Failing XBox Business Has Turned Games Into Funerals
How does it feel to depend on Microsoft?
Yesterday's "Distinguished Lecture" by Richard Stallman Possibly Attended by Close to 1,000 People
The capacity of the place is about 900
Slop Poisons Everything
Imagine wanting to find what Torvalds has just said or what has just been released
Taking Software Freedom 'Mainstream'
interest in Software Freedom must have grown
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 13, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 13, 2025
Gemini Links 14/10/2025: Ada Lovelace Day, Sony CLIE PEG-TG50 Review, Why to Avoid Network Solutions
Links for the day
Richard Stallman (RMS) Announced His Talk Less Than 24 Hours Before It Took Place and Still Filled Up the Auditorium at Sapienza Università di Roma
Photos from yesterday evening [...] It looks like it was a very successful event