A French regulator has elected to drop privacy complaints it levied against Microsoft over data collection Windows 10. The complaints, brought by France's Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) in 2016, initially charged that Microsoft was violating privacy laws by collecting "excessive data" with Windows 10. However, it appears recent privacy-focused changes in the Windows 10 Creators Update have sufficiently assuaged the CNIL's concerns, leading the regulator to close the issue (via Thurrott.com).
Several factors contributed to CNIL's decision. One of the bigger points is related to the new setup experience for Windows 10, which now gives users more granular control over what data is collected. CNIL also claims that Microsoft has reduced the amount of data collected under at its "base" level by "nearly half."
Other, smaller reasons cited for dropping its complaints include:
- Inserted information in accordance with Article 32 of the law "Informatique et Libertés";
- Made requests for authorization from the CNIL for its anti-fraud treatment;
- Privacy Shield to govern international transfers of personal data;
- Put an end to the deposit of cookies without prior compilation of the consent of Internet users when consulting most of its Windows 10 websites and committed to do so for the whole before September 30, 2017.
Microsoft has taken some heat when it comes to privacy concerns in Windows 10. This led the company earlier this year to detail exactly what data it collects and why ahead of the Creators Update release. It appears, at least for CNIL, the steps taken in the Creators Update to make said data collection a little more transparent went far enough.
