5 ms·

Isn't that a GDPR violation?

• msla 6y ago
  Microsoft isn't an EU company. I'm sure the EU is perfectly free to block use of Windows if this is a GDPR violation, given that blocking use of Windows is the only way to ensure the GDPR violations are not continuing, as this is closed-source software.
  • kube-system 6y ago
    Microsoft absolutely has subsidiaries in the EU. https://goo.gl/maps/bxPrCJEoygA7KE377 https://goo.gl/maps/bxPrCJEoygA7KE377 https://goo.gl/maps/srGMYK9JFdG67J8x5 https://goo.gl/maps/srGMYK9JFdG67J8x5
    • msla 6y ago
      It could spin those off completely or close them down. It probably won't, but it has that option.
      • kube-system 6y ago
        That still doesn’t give them immunity from GDPR. The EU considers the GDPR to apply to any entity globally. If the EU wanted to go after them, they likely wouldn’t even be able to transact any business in the EU. But Microsoft is never going to become a fugitive from EU law anyway.
  • yohannparis 6y ago
    GDPR does not apply whether a company is in E.U. or not, but if a user/consumer of a service is in the E.U. So this will be a violation of the GDPR only for Windows users in the E.U. But I'm sure all that tracking is explain in the middle of 100 pages long agreement that you have to agree to install and use Windows.
    • joering2 6y ago
      And its hilarious because when I install Win 10 few days ago the voice says this: "you have to read and agree on Microsoft terms of service. You don't have to agree on these terms but then... you know - no Windows". The female voice literally said that!
    • msla 6y ago
      > GDPR does not apply whether a company is in E.U. or not, but if a user/consumer of a service is in the E.U. Whether a law applies is dependent on whether the country or countries with that law can enforce it. China recently made it illegal for me to wish Hong Kong was independent. Does that mean I'm going to Chinese prison for saying I wish Hong Kong were independent?
      • dividedbyzero 6y ago
        If you travel to China, maybe? If Microsoft were found in violation of GDPR, they already are in Europe, so there would be all kinds of ways to enforce that law.
    • LordDragonfang 6y ago
      >But I'm sure all that tracking is explain in the middle of 100 pages long agreement that you have to agree to install and use Windows. The GDPR is intentionally written so that you can't just waive your rights based on a paragraph buried in the TOS. Otherwise it would be completely meaningless.
  • normalnorm 6y ago
    I've been noticing this "meme" recently on HN: that since company X (any one of the FAANGs) is American, it is not subject to European law. If it operated in Europe, it absolutely is. Believe it or not, the EU is also a sovereign territory with its own laws. Can you imagine arguing that American law does not apply to some company operating in the US, because said company was founded in some other country?
    • msla 6y ago
      > Can you imagine arguing that American law does not apply to some company operating in the US, because said company was founded in some other country? I can imagine countries ceasing to operate in the US, yes. Can you?
      • sergeykish 6y ago
        VW (not US company) in US court [1]. Apple (US company) in EU court [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_illegal_State_aid_case_against_Apple_in_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_illegal_State_aid_case_agai...
• closeparen 6y ago
  Not if they strip the incoming telemetry of any individual identifiers.