.NET Passport Policies

.NET Passport services have been scrutinized, especially in terms of privacy, confidentiality, and security. Many safeguards have been put into place to ensure that none of these aspects are compromised. The safeguards examined so far are primarily technical in nature, but Microsoft has also committed to ensuring adequate safety measures and policies are in place as well.

Microsoft has many policies that must be adhered to before .NET Passport can be implemented. These policies include

• .NET Passport Privacy Statement To read this policy on how Microsoft protects personal information while using the .NET Passport Web site and the .NET Passport Service at participating sites, go to http://www.passport.net/Consumer/_PrivacyPolicy.asp.

• Microsoft.com Statement of Policy This set of policies is documented at http://_www.microsoft.com/info/privacy.htm. It states Microsoft's blanket privacy policy in terms of how personal information is collected, used, controlled, stored, accessed, and secured.

• .NET Passport Kids Privacy Statement Located at http://www.passport.net/_Consumer/KidsPrivacyPolicy.asp?lc=1033, this privacy statement describes the policies of .NET Passport and how it relates to .NET Passport for Kids. It then details the parental consent process and how it can be used to protect children.

Fair Information Practices

Microsoft has based .NET Passport policies on the Fair Information Practices (FIP) recognized by a number of industry and government organizations, including the Online Privacy Alliance, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the European Union Directorate General, and the majority of domestic and foreign privacy advocacy groups.

These policies are structured based on notice, consent, access, security, and remedy and enforcement. In other words, Microsoft's corporate policy, not just .NET Passport policies, is intended to provide the utmost security, privacy, and user control over personal information.