Microsoft offered to reduce from 18 to six months the period it retains the IP addresses of Internet users making queries through its Bing search engine, the company said. The change will be implemented over the next 12 to 18 months, it added.
In a statement, Microsoft underlines that "there are many good reasons to retain and review search data," such as improving the quality of search results, protecting against fraud and maintaining a secure and viable business.
"But consumer privacy can and must be preserved," the company added in an attempt to win the favour of EU regulators.
EU national privacy regulators, brought together under the so-called Article 29 Working Party, had earlier stated that they "do not see a basis for a retention period beyond six months" for data collected on the Internet.
With this announcement, Microsoft appears to be making eyes at EU privacy watchdogs, just as a new commissioner on data protection is due to take office.
Viviane Reding, the EU's commissioner-designate in charge of justice and fundamental rights, has already indicated that she would adopt a tough line on privacy protection, signaling her intention to step up safeguards on the collection and use of personal data (EurActiv 18/12/09).
Antitrust investigation on Yahoo! alliance
The move comes as the US giant submits a dossier to EU antitrust authorities regarding its alliance with Yahoo!, which it hopes will counter the dominance of Google in the Internet search and advertising market.
The Commission is expected to give its response to the operation in February.
Microsoft's offer on data protection, although better than Google's - which retains IP addresses for nine months - nevertheless appears to fall short of requirements informally set by EU privacy regulators, who requested that IP addresses be treated as personal data. For Microsoft, this would imply asking for users' consent every time their private information is collected (see 'Background').
Moreover, regulators are asking Internet companies to cut down the retention period for Internet "cookies" to six months, while both Microsoft and Google continue to keep them for 18 months.
EU enterprises and online business
Microsoft's announcement also comes as European statistical office Eurostat published updated figures on the EU online market, revealing that 12% of the aggregate turnover of European enterprises can be attributed to eCommerce.
Ireland leads the group of countries well beyond the EU average on eCommerce. Indeed, 26% of Irish turnover comes from online selling. In Finland and Sweden, eCommerce amounts to 18% of the overall turnover of private business. In Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus, the figure is below 2%.
Eurostat also reports that 3% of EU companies are now using RFID technology for different purposes. RFID tags are microchip tags which seek to identify and retrieve products, for example along the supply chain. They are widely recognised as the modern-day version of bar codes, although some privacy-related issues have been raised over the usage of these tags.
According to Eurostat, the majority of the companies that have adopted RFID use the tags for access-control purposes. Tracking products and payment applications are the other most common uses, the poll revealed.
