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"1. Use, modify, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly
display, publicly perform, reproduce, publish, sublicense, create derivative
works from, transfer, or sell any such communication.
2. Sublicense to third parties the unrestricted right to
exercise any of the foregoing rights granted with respect to the communication.
3. Publish your name in connection with any such
communication."
Microsoft
wanted and gained control and rights over all the email and chat messages.
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Most services and software require you to agree to some terms
when you sign up or install the software, but few if any users read the terms
because of the legalese. Yet this is uncharacteristically clear: Microsoft
wanted and gained control and rights over all the email and chat messages. The
computer industry has always fought against any government regulation on
privacy, advocating self-monitoring as an effective alternative. So they form
such organizations as Trust-e that allows websites to post a stamp of approval
that has proven ubiquitous. Yet this group does not have any power to
financially or legally punish members who break the rules. In fact, time after
time it has learned of violations only when contacted by the media. Since its
funding relies heavily on the generosity of corporate members such as Microsoft,
it does nothing to stop errant behaviors.
Attentive users also discovered that Microsoft assigns a
unique ID number system that can track all users of Windows 98 and later
versions. Microsoft did not inform users of any of these activities, but even
after they became known, Trust-e took no actions. That is why Microsoft has
developed an even more intrusive mandatory registration system for the next
version of Windows, in which it will likely scan the hardware and software of
users and send them to Microsoft for inspection.
Even Adam Smith, the hero of laissez-faire die-hards, pointed out that
businesspeople often aim for goals counter to that of the society in the pursuit
of profits. Whether it is online privacy or cyber-filters, we must not let
profit-seekers control what we see, hear, or write. Everyone worries about the
Big Brother. We must guard against his corporate sibling.
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Microsoft
websites gave the company ownership and usage rights of its members’
information, emails, and chat records. Indeed, the 2-year-old Terms
of Service (TOS) for Passport sites, which include Hotmail and MSN
Instant Messenger, said that Microsoft could without compensation