Microsoft accused of sharing data of Office 365 business subscribers with Facebook and its app devs
Microsoft is being sued for allegedly sharing its Office 365 customers' business data with Facebook app developers, partners, and subcontractors in violation of its data privacy promises.
The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in San Francisco, on behalf of plaintiffs Frank Russo, Koonan Litigation Consulting, and Sumner Davenport & Associates, all Office 365 customers.
The complaint [PDF] says that – while Microsoft has repeatedly promised its business customers that it would only use their data to provide purchased services, that it would share their data with subcontractors only on a need-to-know basis, and that it will never share their data with third-parties – those claims are false. "In fact, contrary to its representations, Microsoft has regularly shared – and continues to share – its business customers' data with Facebook and other third parties," the complaint says. "The data is shared even when neither the customers nor their contacts are Facebook users."