Microsoft eases Passport fears
SeattlePI | at | by Mike
Microsoft Corp. has made "substantial progress" to ease European Union concerns that its Passport Web-surfing program breaks privacy laws, a United Kingdom official said, lessening the risk that the compay could face penalties. Passport stores personal data such as credit card numbers and billing addresses on Microsoft's servers to speed online shopping. Data protection experts from the 15 EU countries meet Jan. 28 and 29 to decide whether the software violates consumer rights. European Union Competition Commissioner Mario Monti plans to rule in coming months. The commission may impose penalties that go beyond Microsoft's antitrust settlement in the United States, Monti said last month.