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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Microsoft has said that not only will it embrace a new data privacy law in California, due to come into force in the New Year, but will extend the same protections to everyone in the US.

In a blog post by the software giant’s chief privacy officer, Julie Brill is enthusiastic about the new law which has been the subject to extensive lobbying by tech giants like Google and Facebook to water down its contents.

Microsoft, as with Apple, appears to view strong privacy as an opportunity to differentiate itself from its online competitors. “Our approach to privacy starts with the belief that privacy is a fundamental human right and includes our commitment to provide robust protection for every individual,” Brill wrote, adding: “We are strong supporters of California’s new law and the expansion of privacy protections in the United States that it represents.”

She also took several pot shots at Congress’ ongoing failure to agree on a federal data privacy policy, noting that “a lack of action by the United States Congress to pass comprehensive privacy legislation continues to be a serious issue for people who are concerned about how their data is collected, used and shared… In the absence of strong national legislation, California has enacted a landmark privacy law.” Brill is a former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

That law - the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) - “marks an important step toward providing people with more robust control over their data in the United States,” she wrote, adding that it “also shows that we can make progress to strengthen privacy protections in this country at the state level even when Congress can’t or won’t act.”

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