Microsoft in their infinite wisdom decided to a feature in some of their Office 365 apps that logged app usage data at a user level. They claimed enterprise customers could use the data to measure both the productivity and influence of their employees. The Guardian summed this feature up this way:
Microsoft has been criticised for enabling “workplace surveillance” after privacy campaigners warned that the company’s “productivity score” feature allows managers to use Microsoft 365 to track their employees’ activity at an individual level.
The tools, first released in 2019, are designed to “provide you visibility into how your organisation works”, according to a Microsoft blogpost, and aggregate information about everything from email use to network connectivity into a headline percentage for office productivity.
But by default, reports also let managers drill down into data on individual employees, to find those who participate less in group chat conversations, send fewer emails, or fail to collaborate in shared documents.
Researcher Wolfie Christl says this is problematic:
Needless to say, the blowback to this was epic as this is a significant privacy issue. And to nobody’s surprise, Microsoft has now yanked user level data according this blog post:
We appreciate the feedback we’ve heard over the last few days and are moving quickly to respond by removing user names entirely from the product. This change will ensure that Productivity Score can’t be used to monitor individual employees. At Microsoft, we’re committed to both data-driven insights and user privacy. We always strive to get the balance right, but if and when we miss, we will listen carefully and make appropriate adjustments.
We’re making the following changes to Productivity Score:
First, we’re removing user names from the product. During preview, we added a feature that showed end-user names and associated actions over a 28-day period. In response to feedback over the last week, we’re removing that feature entirely. Going forward, the communications, meetings, content collaboration, teamwork, and mobility measures in Productivity Score will only aggregate data at the organization level—providing a clear measure of organization-level adoption of key features. No one in the organization will be able to use Productivity Score to access data about how an individual user is using apps and services in Microsoft 365.
Second, we’re modifying the user interface to make it clearer that Productivity Score is a measure of organizational adoption of technology—and not individual user behavior […]
The remaining three measures in the product— Microsoft 365 App health, network connectivity, and endpoint analytics—don’t include user names.
I am not sure if this is enough. I can see scenarios where some data could still be tied back to specific individuals seeing as it includes device identifiers. So I fully expect this to continue to be an issue that Microsoft will have to deal with.
Phoenix Labs Establishes New Montreal and Los Angeles Studios & Announces New Games In Development
Posted in Commentary with tags Phoenix Labs on December 2, 2020 by itnerdToday Phoenix Labs announced the establishment of two new studios in Montreal, Quebec and Los Angeles, California. These studios, along with new teams in its Vancouver and San Mateo locations, demonstrate Phoenix Labs’ vision for empowering and supporting teams as they embark on the journey of developing new games.
2020 has been a pivotal year for Phoenix Labs as it increased its headcount by more than 50 developers. The company expects to reach 250 employees by the end of 2021 to support new game prototypes across studios, while continuing to support the expansion of Dauntless.
Phoenix Labs’ strategy for establishing these teams starts with investing in strong leaders and core groups in each location, and empowering them to foster team growth organically. In Montreal, the team is led by André Roy, a games industry veteran with leadership roots at Ubisoft, and is supported by Marie-Andrée Lavoie, lead of talent and culture initiatives, and Guillaume Roy, the studio’s head of technology. In Los Angeles, a core group of game developers with decades of experience working together is being led by Product Director Omar Kendall, who previously led teams at Riot Games. Omar is joined by Phoenix Labs’ own Jing Wang, who serves as the Los Angeles studio’s General Manager.
Tomorrow, Phoenix Labs will launch the highly anticipated Dauntless Reforged content update. Reforged introduces new open-world gameplay systems and reimagines the progression and story of Dauntless. The online action RPG has seen incredible success, with a growing community of more than 25 million players. Dauntless continues to pioneer cross-platform experiences as one of a handful of games that allow for cross-play and cross-generational compatibility with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
With two brand new studios, multiple prototypes in the works, huge team growth and the biggest Dauntless expansion of the year, Phoenix Labs is thriving and the future couldn’t look brighter.
Phoenix Labs is a game company based in Vancouver, British Columbia with offices in San Mateo, Los Angeles and Montreal. Founded in 2014, Phoenix Labs strives to empower teams of passionate, experienced game developers to do what they do best – create deep, multiplayer games that bring people together. Phoenix Labs was acquired in January 2020 by digital entertainment company Garena, based in Singapore, to continue their shared vision for connecting gamers across the globe. Their debut title, Dauntless, a co-op Action RPG, is developed by a veteran team from BioWare, Riot Games, and other acclaimed studios and has seen incredible success with over 25 million players worldwide. For more information on Phoenix Labs and to view open positions, please visit www.phoenixlabs.ca.
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