Microsoft targeted by Austrian privacy group over education program

NYOB complained that Microsoft had changed its responsibility as a data controller to process users’ personal data

Brussels:

Microsoft on Tuesday found itself targeted in two complaints filed with the Austrian privacy regulator by privacy advocacy group NOYB over its online education software, the latest complaints leveled against the U.S. technology giant.

Online educational programs grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as schools adopted remote learning and students became online learners.

The NOYB (Nothing To You) complaint focuses on Microsoft’s 365 Education software suite of programs for students, which includes Word, Excel, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint and Outlook.

In its first complaint, the advocacy group alleged that Microsoft, required to process users’ personal data under the European Union’s privacy rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), shifted its responsibility as a data controller to schools, which do not have the necessary data.

“Under the current system Microsoft imposes on schools, your school would have to audit Microsoft or instruct them on how to process student data. Everyone knows that this kind of contractual arrangement is far from reality,” NOYB lawyer Martje de Graaf said in a statement.

“This is nothing but an attempt to shift the responsibility for children’s data as far away from Microsoft as possible,” he said.

The second complaint focuses on cookies installed in Microsoft’s 365 Education. Advertisers use cookies to track consumers.

“Our analysis of the data flows is extremely worrying. Microsoft 365 Education tracks users regardless of their age. This practice is likely to affect millions of pupils and students in the EU and EEA (European Economic Area),” said Felix Miklosch, a lawyer at NOYB.

NOYB urged the Austrian Data Protection Authority to investigate its complaints and impose fines on Microsoft.

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