Dutch watchdog calls for thorough Windows 10 investigation from Redmond’s lead privacy regulator in Europe

Aug 28, 2019 05:18 GMT  ·  By
Microsoft says it'll work together with the Irish watchdog to address the privacy concerns
   Microsoft says it'll work together with the Irish watchdog to address the privacy concerns

Windows 10 has a long history of causing privacy concerns across the world, and more recently, the Dutch data protection agency raised the alarm over the data collection process taking place after installing the OS.

Now the very same agency reached out to Microsoft’s lead privacy regulator in Europe to require a thorough investigation of a series of concerns, after a report published earlier this year revealed that the software giant was yet to address what they considered to be privacy issues.

The investigation will be carried out by the Irish Data Protection Commission, or DPC, and in a statement for TechCrunch, the privacy watchdog confirmed an analysis of privacy controls in Windows 10 would be conducted.

“Since then the DPC has been liaising with the Dutch DPA to further this matter,” a spokeswoman for the DPC was quoted as saying by the cited source. “The DPC has had preliminary engagement with Microsoft and, with the assistance of the Dutch authority, we will shortly be engaging further with Microsoft to seek substantive responses on the concerns raised.”

Non-diagnostic data collected

Microsoft explains in a statement that it has already worked with the Dutch watchdog on improving privacy in Windows 10, and this new investigation is only another opportunity to further refine the operating system in this regard.

“The Dutch data protection authority has in the past brought data protection concerns to our attention, which related to the consumer versions of Windows 10, Windows 10 Home and Pro. We will work with the Irish Data Protection Commission to learn about any further questions or concerns it may have, and to address any further questions and concerns as quickly as possible,” Microsoft says.

Meanwhile, the Dutch agency warns that Microsoft collects both diagnostic and non-diagnostic data in Windows 10, explaining that the investigation carried out by the Irish watchdog should help determine whether the company processes more information than it needs from users.