Epic Letter to State Attorneys General on Microsoft Passport.

January 29, 2002
Dear State Attorney General,
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) urges you to take action to protect consumers against unfair and deceptive trade practices raised by Microsoft Corporation’s Passport service and related “Wallet,” “Kids Passport,” “Hailstorm,” and “.Net Services.” These systems unfairly and deceptively gather personal information and expose consumers to the release, sale, and theft of their personal information. Immediate state action is necessary to protect consumers and ensure Microsoft does not continue to improperly collect personal information.
We have repeatedly urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate this matter in two separate filings, but the Commission has failed to act. We therefore urge you now to initiate an investigation under your statutory authority.
Passport is a system that enables unprecedented profiling of individuals’ browsing and online shopping behaviors. Microsoft has indicated that the company’s goal is to have every Internet user possess a Passport account, thus raising the possibility that Passport may become the tollbooth that controls Internet access and online ordering for millions of consumers in your state. By tying Passport to the Microsoft Hotmail E-Mail system, on-line customer support services, over 100 hundred of the largest online retailers, and to numerous exhortations to subscribe in the Windows XP Operating System and Microsoft home site,