"Microsoft accused of sharing data of Office 365 business subscribers with Facebook and its app devs," 20 Jul 2020

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 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…Microsoft has shared data with hundreds of subcontractors when not necessary for purchased services, and that some of these downstream firms have suffered data breaches.

…In particular, the plaintiffs claim that Microsoft automatically shares customers' business contacts with Facebook, without consent, whether or not the customers or their contacts are Facebook users.

…“We’re aware of the suit and will review it carefully,” a Microsoft spokesperson told The Register…“However, while the allegations themselves are not very specific, as we understand them we don’t believe they have merit. We have an established history of both robust privacy protections and transparency, and we’re confident that our use of customer data is consistent with the instructions of our customers and our contractual commitments.”