As mentioned, some of this movement is not down to kindness on the part of tech companies. Regulations such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have put more restrictions on companies. Furthermore, customers are demanding more secure platforms. Microsoft is making a deeper commitment to user data moving forward. The company has been making moves towards more privacy. For example, the company announced in November it is extending its support of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to all customers in the United States. The move made Microsoft the first tech company to support the regulation nationwide. What makes Microsoft slightly different from rivals such as Google is that the company does not place user data at the center of its business model. As such, Redmond is arguably more capable of offering pirvacy and data protection beyond other companies.
Interestingly, Twitter has followed Microsoft’s lead. Earlier this month, Twitter announced it’s global privacy policy would not support CCPA. It’s worth noting the decision is almost meangingless considering CCPA is a California law and has no application worldwide. However, Twitter clearly believes there is some good promotion to be gained by making this announcement. In other words, Twitter’s announcement tells people it is committed to privacy even if most users won’t be affected by compliance with CCPA.
