A multinational technology corporation that develops and licenses software, hardware, and cloud computing services, including the Windows operating system, Office productivity suite, Xbox gaming platform, and Azure cloud services. The company operates major digital platforms and services used by billions of consumers and businesses worldwide, making its policies on data privacy, content moderation, and AI governance significant for user rights and digital market competition. As a designated gatekeeper under various regulatory frameworks, its policy decisions regarding platform access, data handling, and algorithmic transparency have broad implications for the technology industry.

5 Documents
77 All provisions 12 High severity 48 Medium severity 17 Low severity
12 Changes · 12 mo
Apr 19, 2026 Last change

High — provisions that significantly limit your legal rights, authorize broad data collection, or create material financial exposure. Medium — provisions worth knowing about but with partial protections or limited scope. Low — standard terms with minimal consumer impact.

Governance Coverage
Ai Automated
47 provisions · 11 high · 27 med
Privacy Rights
31 provisions · 3 high · 23 med
Liability Limitation
20 provisions · 5 high · 10 med
Data Collection
13 provisions · 5 high · 7 med
Data Sharing
11 provisions · 2 high · 9 med
Data Usage
7 provisions · 5 high · 2 med
Account Control
6 provisions · 2 high · 3 med
Platform Discretion
5 provisions · 2 high · 2 med
Content Moderation
5 provisions · 2 med
Arbitration
5 provisions · 5 high
Quick Facts
Arbitration: Mandatory
AI Training: Disclosed (high impact)
Data Retention: Specified
Class Action: Waived
Key Governance Provisions
High Limitation of Liability

The liability cap operates as a contractual mechanism that defines the maximum financial exposure Microsoft assumes for any claim category. By establishing a floor of $10.00 and a ceiling tied to pay…

High Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

This provision requires US users to resolve most disputes with Microsoft individually through private arbitration, which the agreement states replaces court proceedings, and waives the right to join …

High Organizational Administrator Control Over User Data

This clause establishes that data governance responsibility transfers to the organization rather than remaining with Microsoft when users access products through organizational accounts. Organization…

High AI and Copilot Input Data Use

The clause establishes the operational scope of data collection and permissible uses for AI feature interactions. It defines what categories of information Microsoft processes and the purposes—servic…

High AI and Copilot Data Use

The provision establishes the operational scope of data collection and use for AI model development and service personalization. It specifies that retention of interaction data occurs as part of norm…

Document Coverage
Aigovernance Privacypolicy Responsibleai Servicesagreement
Last change detected: Apr 19, 2026 Changes (12 months): 12 Documents monitored: 5 Provisions tracked: 77
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Documents

Microsoft Responsible AI Standard

Low

This document establishes Microsoft's Responsible AI Standard, a public policy statement that articulates six operational principles for artificial intelligence development and deployment: fairness, reliability, safety, privacy, transparency, and accountability. The …

Last updated May 12, 2026 · Responsible ai
6 provisions 3 versions captured Version history →

Responsible AI Report 2025

Medium

This document establishes Microsoft's governance framework and internal standards for the design, development, and deployment of artificial intelligence systems across its product portfolio, including Azure AI, Copilot, and Bing. The …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Ai governance
7 provisions 1 version captured Version history →

Responsible AI

Low

This document establishes Microsoft's stated principles and internal governance structures for artificial intelligence development and deployment, covering fairness, privacy, transparency, and accountability across its AI products. The document describes Microsoft's …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Responsible ai
10 provisions 3 versions captured Version history →

Microsoft Services Agreement (Legacy)

High

This agreement establishes the terms governing Microsoft's consumer services including Outlook, OneDrive, Xbox, Bing, and Microsoft 365 subscriptions. The agreement authorizes Microsoft to use content uploaded or created within these …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Services agreement
8 provisions 2 versions captured Version history →

Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy)

Medium

This document establishes Microsoft's privacy practices across its product portfolio including Windows, Microsoft 365, Bing, Xbox, Copilot, Teams, and Azure, and specifies categories of personal data collected such as identifiers, …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Privacy policy
10 provisions 7 versions captured 4 significant changes Version history →

Recent Changes

April 19, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft modified its data retention policy language on April 19, 2026. Previously, the policy described specific retention criteria including whether customers expected data to be retained until they removed it, …

View change record →
April 1, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft revised its data retention policy language on April 1, 2026. Previously, the policy outlined specific retention criteria including whether customers expected data retention until deletion, whether automated deletion controls …

View change record →
March 13, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft updated its Privacy Statement in March 2026 with two substantive changes: removal of language describing additional rights for European Economic Area users, and addition of language authorizing contact via …

View change record →
March 5, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft removed a sentence from its privacy statement that described consent-based marketing contact via auto-dialer and prerecorded voice technology potentially generated using AI. The updated document no longer explicitly discloses …

View change record →
📈 Policy Drift Analysis View all changes →

Low Severity Provisions (6)

View all high severity provisions → Compare Microsoft with other platforms →

Applicable Regulations

EU AI Act
European Union
View official text ↗
BIPA
Illinois, USA
View official text ↗
CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
View official text ↗
Colorado AI Act
US-CO
View official text ↗
CFAA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
View official text ↗
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
View official text ↗
DMA
European Union
View official text ↗
DSA
European Union
View official text ↗
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
View official text ↗
FAA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
View official text ↗
GDPR
European Union
View official text ↗
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
View official text ↗
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
View official text ↗
TCPA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
Texas AI Act
Texas, USA
View official text ↗
UK GDPR
United Kingdom
View official text ↗
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US
View official text ↗
VPPA
United States Federal
View official text ↗

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Microsoft documents does ConductAtlas track?

ConductAtlas tracks 5 Microsoft documents including terms of service, privacy policy, and other governance documents. Every document is captured daily with cryptographic verification.

How many policy changes has Microsoft made in the past year?

Microsoft has made 12 policy changes in the past 12 months across the documents ConductAtlas tracks.

How many provisions has ConductAtlas classified for Microsoft?

ConductAtlas has classified 77 provisions across Microsoft's tracked documents. 12 are rated high severity, 48 medium, and 17 low.

Can I get alerts when Microsoft changes their policies?

Yes. Monitor subscribers ($19/month) can add Microsoft to their watchlist and receive same-day email alerts whenever any tracked document changes.