Does Issuing Passports Make Microsoft a Country?
Am I the only one who is terrified about Microsoft Passport? It seems to me like a fairly blatant attempt to build the world’s largest, richest consumer database, and then make fabulous profits mining it. It’s a terrifying threat to everyone’s personal privacy and it will make today’s “cookies” seem positively tame by comparison. The scariest thing is that Microsoft is advertising Passport as if it were a benefit to consumers, and people seem to be falling for it! By the time you’ve read this article, I can guarantee that I’ll scare you into turning off your Hotmail account and staying away from MSN web sites. This article has two parts. First, I’ll present a brief technical overview of how Passport works and why it eliminates the last line of defense protecting your privacy. Second, I’ll talk about how Microsoft plans to develop Passport to create a massive consumer information database and link all your private information together, and how they plan to profit fantastically from it.
