In a victory for general transparency, Microsoft has asked the hosting service for a website that allows for the posting of sensitive documents to reinstate the site.
Microsoft filed a copyright complaint against the website, Cryptome.org, after the posting of a document that “advises law enforcement how to file subpoenas, outlines what data Microsoft keeps on users of its online services such as Xbox Live and Hotmail, and explains how to parse the resulting user data.” For example, Xbox Live records every IP address used to login, and stores them forever. On Windows Live ID, Microsoft will keep your last 10 Microsoft site and IP connection record combinations. It does not record your instant messenger chats, but does keep contact lists.
Cryptome's host service had shut the site down after Microsoft filed a digital copyright complaint against the website. After an outcry over the website's shuttering, Microsoft today announced:
In this case, we did not ask that this site be taken down, only that Microsoft copyrighted content be removed. We are requesting to have the site restored and are no longer seeking the document’s removal.
This incident followed the recent reinstatement of another sensitive documents website, Wikileaks.org. In early February, Wikileaks announced that it would be temporarily shutting down because of budget issues. However, a few days later the site announced it had raised enough money to keep itself open for another year.
