Microsoft Scrutinized by the European Union over Privacy Issues [Bloomberg]

The European Union regulators are reportedly planning to examine the recently updated privacy policies in Microsoft products such as Hotmail and the Bing search engine, Bloomberg reported today.

It appears that EU’s privacy watchdogs have already informed company CEO Steve Ballmer and the head of Microsoft Luxembourg about the examination. Bloomberg has obtained a copy of the letter sent by investigators who are going to check the privacy policies for any potential issues.

“Given the wide range of services you offer, and popularity of these services, changes in your Services Agreement and the linked Privacy Policy may affect many individuals in most or all of the EU member states. We decided to check the possible consequences for the protection of the personal data of these individuals in a coordinated procedure,” Jacob Kohnstamm, a EU official, wrote in the letter.

Microsoft has already issued a reply, saying that the company has not changed the privacy policy as part of its Microsoft Services Agreement update, so it’s confident that no issues will be found.