Microsoft caught up in European privacy investigation

The European Commission has confirmed it is investigating Microsoft's controversial Passport single sign-on service over fears it breaches privacy law.

Fears were raised by Erik Meijer, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, about the way Passport collects and stores personal data.

His primary concerns are that users who do not want to sign up with the service are consequently barred entry to certain sections of the internet and those wishing to unsubscribe are unable to do so.

Microsoft is already being investigated at length in Europe in the long-running antitrust saga.