A law firm called “Bubnov and Partners” has formally asked Russia’s Attorney General to investigate Windows 10‘s compliance with Russian law. According to the attorneys, Microsoft’s new operating system poses a threat to user privacy, which may violate Russian laws on confidentiality.
Bubnov and Partners claims that the operating system collects browser history, passwords, email logs, and calendar events, and passes this information on to third parties, from advertising companies to courts. The attorneys also say this feature of Windows 10 violates attorney-client privilege, which stipulates that all communication between a client and a lawyer remains confidential.
Microsoft representatives have announced that they do not share personal data with third parties. They have also stated that Windows 10 users can change the settings on how their personal data will be used.
[The attorneys] maintain that the data collection function should be turned off, and that users should be given the opportunity to turn it back on. The appeal states that the company should be allowed to distribute its new operating system in Russia only in the event that this condition is fulfilled.
Windows 10 was released last month. The operating system received mostly positive reviews, but came under criticism for requiring detailed information from users, which is then stored on Microsoft’s servers.