Irreal

Microsoft has been caught again spying on their users. Microsoft, of course, claims it’s all a big misunderstanding. They explain, Facebook like, that if you don’t want to share your data you have to adjust this obscure setting involving diagnostic data not the setting labeled “Send my activity history to Microsoft.” Or maybe you have to adjust them both. It’s hard to tell and Microsoft isn’t very helpful to users trying to set up their machines to maintain a decent level of privacy.

Google, of course, is a bigger invader of its users’ privacy but at least they have the decency to provide their services for free. Microsoft, on the other hand, makes you pay ($139 for the Windows 10 “Home” edition) for the privilege of being spied on. Their users—at least some of them—are angry and mumbling darkly about suing under Europe’s GDPR. Microsoft will claim that, “Gee, we did have a setting—or series of settings—that turn off the collection” so we’re not doing anything wrong. It’s hard to say what those in charge of GDPR enforcement will say but the Dutch Government’s reactions to similar findings isn’t encouraging.

Regardless, it’s hard to feel sorry for Microsoft’s users. This type of thing keeps happening and every time it does, the users are shocked and repair to their fainting couches but they keep using Windows. As with Google, if you use their products, you’re going to be surveilled. Full stop.

In what could be considered a corollary to The Iron Law of Data Collection¹, the UK’s GCHQ (their version of the American NSA) has informed Parliament that their use of bulk device hacking—originally promised to be used sparingly only in special cases—has “evolved”. What that means is that they’re going to do more of it. Of course they are. Just as with data collection, once something like this starts its use grows. Before long it will be the normal procedure.

If there’s one thing the nosy parkers hate, it’s not being able to stick their noses into everybody’s business. Because they find that intolerable and because the use of encryption is making it harder to do their snooping by intercepting communications, the GCHQ wants to hack into peoples computers and cell phones. They’re there and they may contain information that the authorities want to know about so we better hack them.

Sadly, the UK has already traveled well down the road the Orwell warned about. The police routinely monitor social media to make sure that no one is indulging in Bad Think™ and, really, it wouldn’t be surprising if they’re mining this type of information too. If they aren’t, you can be sure they soon will be.

Just as with data collection, the only way to end this is for the UK citizens to deliver a firm “NO” to the GCHQ.