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from the sunshine-is-the-best-disinfectant dept.
So far this is only in Switzerland, but there is every reason to suppose it will come up in Germany and other countries. In Switzerland, on the request of the Pirate Party, the governmental data protection office is having a look at Windows 10 (article in German, Here is a Google translation).
If the office determines that Windows 10 violates Swiss privacy laws, they can recommend changes to Windows 10. If Microsoft were to refuse to make those changes, the office would have the option of banning Windows 10 within the country. As the article points out, a similar process forced Google to make substantial changes to StreetView, so it can be effective.
Personal opinion: Switzerland is too small by itself. However, if the Pirate Party in Germany, France and elsewhere could initiate similar actions, Europe as a whole could force real change. And, hey, it will show that the Pirate Party hasn't totally lost its way.
Original Submission
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 27 2015, @12:34AM
You deride privacy advocates as the "tinfoil hat brigade", but that is just a smear term. We already know that companies have absolutely no qualms about violating users' rights if it means they can make more money, and we already know that many users tend not to care about privacy issues. Those two things just don't mix. Furthermore, because this is proprietary software, they can hide all sorts of bad things (which, as history shows, is not above them), so you can't trust it.
Not every claim against Windows and Microsoft is necessarily true, but there is also absolutely no reason to trust Microsoft.