4 ms·

Smart business from Microsoft, and a gauntlet of sorts for other global tech firms.

• phs318u 8y ago
  Agreed. There's no reason why Microsoft - a software and hardware maker - couldn't be more like (or even supercede) Apple in this regard - i.e. treat the user as the customer not the product. Further to that (without wanting to be cynical), it's probably also easier for MS to avoid the potentially complex jurisdictional issues that GDPR raises. One privacy code-base to rule them all.
  • vkou 8y ago
    > Agreed. There's no reason why Microsoft - a software and hardware maker - couldn't be more like (or even supercede) Apple in this regard - i.e. treat the user as the customer not the product. Besides Apple's sky-high margins and complete control over the iPhone ecosystem, with a vice-like grip on app developers, no reason whatsoever. If Microsoft made $400 per Windows PC that was sold, and 30 cents on every dollar of windows software ever sold (And had a competitor called Froogle with a steady 70% market share, whose business was based on user monetization), they'd probably be less interested in monetizing their users. I'm not entirely sure that's a world you'd want to live in, though.
    • Angostura 8y ago
      For context, Microsoft's fiscal 4th quarter, as reported last July, saw profits of $6.5 billion, doubling year on year, largely due to strong growth in its cloud offering. Strong privacy offerings might cut that to - what? $6bn?
      • Kim_Bruning 8y ago
        Leveling the playing field means that people who provide good privacy options are no longer out-false-competed in a race to the bottom. It's entirely plausible that companies will actually see their income increase.