Xbox One News: Microsoft Reveals Plans to Increase Security, Privacy on Console

With all the stories that have emerged in 2013 about the government invading the privacy of regular American citizens, many have been concerned about the potential privacy issues posed by the Xbox One and its motion sensing Kinect camera. With that in mind, Microsoft has released a new blog post detailing the steps it will take to further protect user privacy and information.

Brad Smith, General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs for Microsoft, wrote a blog post explaining that Microsoft is just as concerned as private citizens over world governments potentially spying on users or stealing their information, so the company is taking steps to prevent that from happening:

"In light of these allegations, we've decided to take immediate and coordinated action in three areas:

•  We are expanding encryption across our services.
•  We are reinforcing legal protections for our customers' data.
•  We are enhancing the transparency of our software code, making it easier for customers to reassure themselves that our products do not contain back doors."

Smith outlines how Microsoft will be improving these security measures for customers, as well as revealing that they will become more transparent in their security measures to show that they really are helping protect their user base:

"Just as we've called for governments to become more transparent about these issues, we believe it's appropriate for us to be more transparent ourselves. We're therefore taking additional steps to increase transparency by building on our long-standing program that provides government customers with an appropriate ability to review our source code, reassure themselves of its integrity, and confirm there are no back doors. We will open a network of transparency centers that will provide these customers with even greater ability to assure themselves of the integrity of Microsoft's products. We'll open these centers in Europe, the Americas and Asia, and we'll further expand the range of products included in these programs."

Finally, Smith concluded that Microsoft hopes these steps will prevent their technology from being used to by oppressive forces and keep Americans safe from interference in their personal lives:

"Ultimately, we're sensitive to the balances that must be struck when it comes to technology, security and the law. We all want to live in a world that is safe and secure, but we also want to live in a country that is protected by the Constitution. We want to ensure that important questions about government access are decided by courts rather than dictated by technological might. And we're focused on applying new safeguards worldwide, recognizing the global nature of these issues and challenges. We believe these new steps strike the right balance, advancing for all of us both the security we need and the privacy we deserve."