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EU confirms it is investigating .Net Passport
16:43 Tuesday 11th June 2002
Reuters
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Despite Microsoft's earlier denials, the European Union has announced it is looking into how .Net Passport collects data
The European Union is examining charges that Microsoft's .Net Passport system breaks EU rules on data privacy, a European Commission official said on Tuesday. The official said he expected member states to make a formal announcement after 1 July.
The official was commenting after Microsoft called a news conference to deny the Commission or any EU state was formally investigating the .Net Passport system of collecting personal data from Internet users. "Not one of the 15 member states or the European Commission is investigating Passport," Peter Fleischer, senior attorney for law and corporate affairs at Microsoft, told reporters.
He was referring to reports last month that the EU was looking into whether the system complied with strict EU rules on data protection. The Commission official confirmed no formal investigation had yet started but suggested action may be in the pipeline. "It is correct to say there is no formal investigation at the moment," he said. "But the issue is under consideration and we are hoping for some kind of announcement from the member states after 1 July."
EU national privacy controllers, the officials charged with monitoring compliance with EU privacy laws, are due to meet on 1 July, the official added.
Privacy concerns
Earlier this month the EU executive said in a letter to a member of the European Parliament it was "a matter of priority" for it to look into Microsoft's .Net Passport service in cooperation with EU member states.
Several national privacy controllers said last month that associations aimed at protecting privacy had been asking governments to open an investigation and could get their way.
Fleischer said Microsoft was in a "constructive dialogue" over this issue with the Commission and EU states, but would not give details of what specific concerns the Commission had about .Net Passport.
Under EU data privacy rules, customers' personal data can only be used by a firm or passed on to others with prior consent from the individual.
While the Commission has authority to help member states interpret EU law, legal action would be launched by the individual member states.
Privacy groups and their allies argue that Microsoft's free .Net Passport service collects personal information while consumers are making purchases, playing games or doing bank transactions on line.
Richard Purcell, Microsoft's corporate privacy officer, denied the allegations, saying that customers give data on a voluntary basis. Such data normally include usernames, passwords, email addresses and, in some cases, phone numbers.
Any investigation would be separate from a probe by the competition arm of the Commission, which is looking into Microsoft's Windows operating system, alleged to work better with its own server software than those of its rivals.
Microsoft said last month it had also supplied information to the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, which has received similar complaints.
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