EU Passport

Microsoft has agreed to make "substantial changes" to its .Net Passport online authentication system to ease concerns about data protection among European Union member countries. The changes, which include a "radical change of the information flow" within Passport, will be made to ensure that the company's authentication system reflects the requirements of the European Data Protection Directive. The agreement was announced by the European Commission's Article 29 Working Party on data protection, which has been examining how Passport and the rival online authentication system from Sun Microsystems-backed Liberty Alliance Project comply with data protection rules within the EU. The working party has produced a working document of guidelines that will apply to Passport, the Liberty Alliance Project and future online authentication systems, and a commitment from Microsoft to implement "a comprehensive package of data protection measures".