Microsoft

Big-tech corporations like Google, Meta, Microsoft etc. extensively utilize customization to collect and analyze user data, a practice integral to their business models. Google leverages user data to personalize services across its platforms, notably in its search engine and YouTube, to enhance user experience and bolster its targeted advertising strategies. Similarly, Meta uses algorithmic content curation on Facebook and Instagram, tailoring user feeds to individual preferences and behaviors, thereby generating detailed user profiles for marketing purposes. Microsoft's approach, particularly with Office 365 and LinkedIn, focuses on productivity enhancements while also gathering user data for feature refinement and targeted advertising. These practices, I argue, while improving user engagement, raise significant privacy concerns. The extensive data collection often occurs without full transparency or user consent, leading to debates about ethical implications, digital surveillance, and societal impacts. In response, there is a growing demand for stricter data governance and privacy regulations, as seen in initiatives like the GDPR and CCPA, aiming to balance the benefits of personalization with the rights and privacy of users.

Child exploitation in cyberspace is one of the most serious challenges of the digital age, requiring innovative approaches and advanced technologies to combat it. In this regard, Microsoft has developed Project Artemis—an analytical tool that identifies suspected grooming behaviors in online textual conversations and reports them to the relevant authorities. Although introduced as a solution to enhance children’s safety, this technology raises concerns regarding user privacy, data collection and processing methods, and potential misuse of surveillance systems. Issues such as extensive monitoring of user communications, possible misidentification of conversations, and challenges related to data governance demand deeper investigation. This paper adopts a descriptive-analytical approach to examine these concerns, aiming to strike a balance between child protection and users' privacy rights. While Artemis proves to be an effective tool in identifying and addressing online child sexual abuse, it also faces limitations such as inefficacy in encrypted chats, lack of comprehensive preventive strategies, and privacy concerns. Full effectiveness requires the development of complementary technologies, legal reinforcement, policy collaboration, and broader engagement from communication platforms. Furthermore, designing localized tools tailored to national cultural contexts should also be considered.