On Monday, it was reported that Microsoft would pay $20.00 million for illegally collecting children’s data without parents’ consent.
Its stock price went up by 0.16% to $335.94 per share on June 05. However, it is expected to drop by -0.11% to $335.58 apiece in its upcoming session.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is charging the tech company. It has been charged due to violations of the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
According to FTC’s statement, Microsoft has been gathering children’s information who signed up for their Xbox gaming system. The collection was done without notifying their parents or getting their consent.
It is now required for the firm to improve privacy protections for young users signing up for its gaming system. Moreover, FTC will broaden its protections to third-party gaming publishers who Microsoft shares data with.
As a spokesperson from the entity said, it will comply with the order. Also, it was mentioned that the account creation process would be updated. Furthermore, they will resolve a data retention issue found in their system.
In addition, the law orders online services and websites directed toward children under 13 to notify parents. This enables verifiable parental consent gathering before collecting or using the children’s information.
Outlook Users from Microsoft Reports Problems
Thousands of users reported issues regarding Microsoft Outlook. There were concerns with access and the email platform.
According to outage tracker Downdetector, there were almost 18,000 reported problems from Microsoft 365.
Most of the concerns were about Outlook. Many users were frustrated with its emailing platform, saying they could not sign in or load their accounts.
Furthermore, the tech company said it was conducting an investigation for Outlook on the web. It later stated that it had reverted to an update and witnessed service improvement.
Also, Microsoft announced that it fixed a concern that prevented users from accessing some of its services.
