How Microsoft 365 Education suite is a ‘problem’ in EU schools

Microsoft is facing two complaints in the European Union (EU) over its online education software, 365 Education. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, the latest charges on the US-based tech giant have been brought to the Austrian privacy watchdog by privacy advocacy group NOYB. The advocacy group also urged the Austrian Data Protection Authority to investigate its complaints and impose a fine on Microsoft.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online educational programmes became popular as schools switched to remote teaching and students became online learners.Microsoft's 365 Education suite of software programs for students offers tools including Word, Excel, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint and Outlook.

In the first complaint, the advocacy group alleged that Microsoft shifted the burden of complying with EU data privacy laws (GDPR) on schools, even though schools cannot manage student data according to those regulations.
In a statement, NOYB lawyer Maartje de Graaf said: “Under the current system that Microsoft is imposing on schools, your school would have to audit Microsoft or give them instructions on how to process pupils' data. Everyone knows that such contractual arrangements are out of touch with reality. This is nothing more but an attempt to shift the responsibility for children's data as far away from Microsoft as possible.”

The second complaint focuses on cookies installed in Microsoft's 365 Education suite that advertisers use to track consumers.
Another NOYB lawyer Felix Mikolasch said: "Our analysis of the data flows is very worrying. Microsoft 365 Education appears to track users regardless of their age. This practice is likely to affect hundreds of thousands of pupils and students in the EU and EEA (European Economic Area)," said
Last month, the EU warned Microsoft that it would impose a fine of up to 1% of its global annual revenue if it fails to provide requested information about the risks associated with its generative AI tools in the Bing search engine.
In March, the EU asked tech giants, including Microsoft, to provide details about how they manage risks from AI tools. Microsoft dodged questions about its "Copilot in Bing" and "Image Creator" features, which the EU fears may violate new laws by spreading misinformation and manipulating voters.