Microsoft Gave NSA Access to Private Skype and Email Conversations

Privacy is kind of a big deal.  Some places and people take their privacy more seriously than others, but almost everyone tends to agree they like to have some.  The National Security Agency has not made many friends with the extent to which it actively invades the privacy of Americans.  Microsoft has probably not made many loyal users amongst its customers with the discovery of their having shared users’ private conversations with the NSA.

The conversations shared include user discussions between people over Skype, Outlook, and Hotmail, meaning both instant messages and emails.  Microsoft insisted in a statement that only information from accounts specifically demanded by the NSA were shared, and that such is the only information they ever will share with government agencies of any sort.

This is especially disturbing for gamers looking to pick up the upcoming Xbox One, since the voice chat shown for the console uses Skype.  Having it become known your chat service is open to the NSA on demand with an always-on camera attached is not a pleasant thought for gamers to ponder.