Microsoft Collecting Location Data on the Sly? I'm Stunned!

Who knew that a multi-billion-dollar corporation could be so deceptive and sneaky? Benzinga's own John Thorpe did, suggesting earlier this year that Microsoft MSFT chose to acquire Skype in order to spy on us. Now TechCrunch is reporting that the Windows maker is being sued for collecting users' location data – including the data of users that opt out of this feature. According to TechCrunch, the “offending” code is tied to Windows Phone 7's camera application; when accessed for the first time, the app asks users if they want to allow the phone to use their location. Regardless of what users select, Microsoft is apparently recording our data anyway. If the lawsuit's claims are correct, Microsoft has been performing this deceptive act with one goal: to create a location-aware marketing system that can generate ads based on the device's physical location. That sounds like something Google GOOG would love to do, doesn't it? With less deception, I hope. Follow me @LouisBedigian