January 31, 2003	Friday	Ziqa’ad 27, 1423

BRUSSELS, Jan 30: US giant Microsoft, under pressure from the European Union, has agreed to make substantial changes to a system which handles personal data, the European Commission said on Thursday.

Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein welcomed the agreement on Microsoft’s .NET Passport system, saying it will boost personal data privacy.

“Microsoft has agreed to implement a comprehensive package of data protection measures, which will mean making subsantial changes to the existing .NET Passport system,” said a statement.

“The bottom line is that users’ data will now be better protected,” said Bolkestein, announcing the agreement after a meeting of EU experts.

“The industry in general now needs to take on board the (EU’s) guidelines when developing new systems,” he added.—AFP