Microsoft on the Issues - News and perspectives on legal, public policy and citizenship topics

Microsoft’s support for the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions

April 29, 2016April 29, 2016 - Fred Humphries - Corporate Vice President of U.S. Government Affairs for Microsoft in Washington, D.C.

Technology is a powerful tool that empowers voters and dramatically improves the democratic process. It gives voters access to information to make informed decisions and helps ensure election results are reported accurately, efficiently and securely. In recent weeks, we have been asked about our plans for the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Since we began working with convention committees in 2000, the company has based our actions on three Read more »

Towards a taxonomy of civic technology

April 27, 2016April 27, 2016 - Matt Stempeck - Director of Civic Technology, Microsoft Technology & Civic Engagement Team

Matt Stempeck is Director of Civic Technology on Microsoft’s Technology & Civic Engagement team. The thoughts in this post are derived from a collaboration with Micah Sifry and Erin Simpson, which will be presented today at The Impacts of Civic Technology Conference. Micah Sifry co-founded the long-running Personal Democracy Forum conference and Civic Hall, which has attracted over 1,000 individual and 90 organizational members in just over one year of Read more »

‘Fishackathon’ hooks Seattle tech professionals

April 25, 2016April 26, 2016 - Graham Thompson - Seattle Civic Tech Manager, Microsoft.

Fishackathon, civic engagement

Seattle technology professionals gathered over the weekend at Impact Hub Seattle to participate in a “Fishackathon,” one of 41 Fishackathons that took place in cities around the world timed with Earth Day. These events are coordinated by the U.S. Department of State, with the goal of using data science and technology to reduce global overfishing, while protecting our environment and food supply. Microsoft was the organizing sponsor for the two-day Read more »

Why this biotech patent case is significant for the software industry

April 25, 2016April 25, 2016 - David Jones - Assistant General Counsel of IP Policy and IP Law Policy

It’s with good reason that the patent case of Sequenom Inc v. Ariosa Diagnostics gained incredible attention in the biomedical community. When the biotech company Sequenom developed a new way to identify potential fetal health and developmental risks through a maternal blood test instead of through an invasive procedure, it was considered a breakthrough in neonatal medicine. According to the courts, however, this innovation cannot be protected by patent rights. Read more »

Microsoft brings Bridge to MassChallenge to Australia

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016 - Dan'l Lewin - Corporate Vice President, Technology & Civic Engagement, Microsoft

Technology & Civic Engagement, accelerator, citizenship

Boston-born startup accelerator, MassChallenge, will soon be setting up its first Bridge to MassChallenge program in Australia with Microsoft as its founding partner. The Australian government today announced the news along with Pip Marlow of Microsoft and Kara Shurmantine of MassChallenge. MassChallenge is one of the world’s top accelerators. It was founded as a non-profit organization by John Harthorne and Akhil Nigam in the aftermath of the global financial crisis Read more »

Microsoft partners with Legal Services Corporation and Pro Bono Net to create access to justice portal

April 19, 2016April 19, 2016 - Dave Heiner - Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of the Regulatory Affairs team at Microsoft

Imagine you are single, with two kids, one in diapers. You have steady work, but after paying for commuting, child care, food and rent, there isn’t much left over. You speak Spanish natively, and English well enough to get by. Things are going along pretty well until the heat fails, repeatedly, in your apartment. When the landlord doesn’t fix it despite your complaints, you withhold rent, as you are legally Read more »

5 questions with We Day Seattle participant Aishwarya Manoharan

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016 - Microsoft Corporate Blogs

YouthSpark, education, STEM, We Day Seattle 2016

Microsoft Philanthropies is a founding sponsor of We Day California and We Day Seattle, stadium-sized celebrations of youth making a difference locally and globally. Sponsoring We Day is one way Microsoft Philanthropies works to empower young people to achieve more for themselves, their communities and the world. Aishwarya Manoharan is a standout We Day Seattle participant who will attend the April 20 event. The Woodinville High School senior is a Read more »

Keeping secrecy the exception, not the rule: An issue for both consumers and businesses

April 14, 2016April 14, 2016 - Brad Smith - President and Chief Legal Officer

This morning we filed a new lawsuit in federal court against the United States government to stand up for what we believe are our customers’ constitutional and fundamental rights – rights that help protect privacy and promote free expression. This is not a decision we made lightly, and hence we wanted to share information on this step and why we are taking it. An issue of fundamental rights We believe Read more »

Why the DMCA is ready for the next chapter of innovation

April 12, 2016April 12, 2016 - Jule Sigall - Assistant General Counsel of IP Policy & Strategy

Twenty years ago, the notion that most Americans would begin their morning by going online – checking their email, posting a personal update or photo, or completing an online purchase, all before finishing their morning coffee – was almost implausible. Today, more than a quarter of Americans report that they are online “almost constantly” with their always-connected phones and tablets. The Internet, and popular sites like Amazon, Facebook, OneDrive, Pinterest, Read more »

New resources from Microsoft to support customer privacy and cloud compliance

April 7, 2016April 13, 2016 - Brendon Lynch - Chief Privacy Officer, Microsoft

In his keynote this week at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Global Privacy Summit, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, called privacy one of the defining issues of our time and a cause worth embracing. Microsoft sees privacy as a fundamental human right and, when it comes to our products, we are committed to providing our customers with the information and controls they need to make Read more »