Posted by Hernan RinconPresident, Microsoft Latin America
Governments all over the world are struggling with how to lower unemployment rates and improve the economy. In many countries, young people make up a significant portion of the unemployed, which not only impacts current economic recovery, but casts a shadow on the future. For example, according to “Opportunity for Action,” a report recently released by the International Youth Foundation (IYF), in Latin America, youth unemployment is nearly three times that of adults. These young people, aged 15 to 29, are the foundation for our future, and we must do all that we can to stabilize and fortify this foundation.
This week at Microsoft’s annual Government Leaders Forum Americas, the company is drawing attention to the growing challenge of unemployment for youth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Thursday’s keynote, delivered by my colleague Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice president of Legal and Corporate Affairs, spoke to the issue and detailed Microsoft’s commitment to creating opportunities for youth in the region through various initiatives, programs and partnerships.
[Read more...]
Posted by Laura IpsenCorporate Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector, Microsoft
Over the past week I have had the honor to represent Microsoft at two events on opposite sides of the globe, specifically focused on empowering women and girls, an issue that is critical for both countries and global companies like Microsoft.
On May 25, I participated in a panel discussion led by Irina Bokova, Director-General UNESCO, to mark the first anniversary of the launch of “Better Life, Better Future”, UNESCO’s Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Posted by Brendon LynchChief Privacy Officer, Microsoft
Today, Microsoft announced Windows 8 has reached Release Preview and Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8 will have “Do Not Track” (DNT) on by default. This post includes additional thoughts about this important milestone in our effort to advance trust and consumer privacy online. Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 will be the first browser to have DNT on by default. Consumers can change this setting, but the default will be to send the DNT signal to websites that consumers visit.
Posted by Eric WengerPolicy Counsel for U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft
Every day criminals exploit innocent, unsuspecting people by secretly overtaking their computers to carry out crimes. Networks of bad actors have assembled an efficient, resilient infrastructure of computing power called botnets to enable Internet-based organized crimes ranging from the distribution of malware to phishing solicitations and online theft. In order to address the criminal threat posed by botnets, the public and private sectors are announcing new, collaborative efforts to keep consumers safe online.
Today, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith joined U.S. Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Pat Gallagher and industry leaders at the White House to unveil new efforts to combat botnets. The Industry Botnet Group, a coalition of private sector partners, released their guiding principles at the event as part of the fight against botnets. Below is video from the event. You can watch Brad Smith's comments starting at about the 35:15 mark.
Posted by Tim FieldenAssistant General Counsel, Microsoft
Microsoft, like other businesses, relies on user agreements that we ask consumers to read and accept before using our products and services. We revise and update these agreements over time. This post discusses a change we have begun making as we update user agreements across our consumer products and services.
When a customer in the United States has a dispute about a Microsoft product or service, many of our new user agreements will require that, if we can’t informally resolve the dispute, the customer bring the claim in small claims court or arbitration, but not as part of a class action lawsuit. Many companies have adopted this approach, which the U.S. Supreme Court permitted in a case it decided in 2011. We made this change to our terms of use for Xbox LIVE several months ago, and we will implement similar changes in user agreements for other products and services in the coming months as we roll out major licensing, hardware or software releases and updates.