Microsoft contractors also listen in on some Skype calls and Cortana requests

We recently wrote that Apple was seen in listening to the voice requests of users by third-party people hired by the company under a contract. This in itself is logical: otherwise it would be simply impossible to develop Siri, but there are nuances: firstly, random requests were often transmitted when people did not even know that they were listening; secondly, the information was supplemented with some user identification data; and thirdly, the people did not consent to it.

Microsoft is now in the same story: according to the screenshots handed over to Vice Motherboard journalists, a cache of internal documents and audio recordings, third-party contractors listen to Skype users' conversations, which are conducted through an automatic translation service. Although the Skype website says that the company can analyze the audio of phone calls that a user wants to transfer, it does not say that any of the recordings will be listened to by people.

The snippets obtained by journalists include conversations of users who communicate with loved ones, talk about personal problems like weight loss, or discuss personal relationship problems. Other files obtained by Moterboard show that Microsoft contractors are also listening to voice commands that users send to Cortana's personal assistant. Apple and Google recently suspended the use of record analysis contractors to improve Siri and Assistant following backlash against similar media reports about the companies' practices.

“The fact that I can even share some of the recordings with you shows how careless Microsoft is in terms of protecting user data,” said one Microsoft contractor who provided an anonymous file cache for Moterboard. Audio snippets received by journalists are usually short, 5-10 seconds long. The source noted that other passages may be longer.

In 2015, Skype launched the "Translator" service, which allows users to receive real-time audio translations during AI-assisted phone and video calls. Although the product uses neural network machine learning, the result, of course, is corrected and refined by real people. As a result, a fairly high quality of automatic machine translation is achieved.

“People use Skype to call their loved ones, participate in job interviews, communicate with their families abroad, and so on. Companies need to be 100% transparent when it comes to recording people's conversations and their subsequent use, says Frederike Kaltheuner, program manager for data usage at Privacy International. “And if your voice sample is going to be viewed by a human (for whatever reason), the system should ask if you agree with it, or at least give you the option to opt out.”

Microsoft believes that its Skype Translator FAQ and Cortana documentation clearly indicate that the company is using voice data to improve its services (although it does not explicitly state that people are involved in the process). A company spokesperson told reporters via email: “Microsoft collects voice data to provide and improve voice services such as search, commands, dictation, or translation. We strive to be transparent about the collection and use of audio data so that customers can make informed choices about when and how their voice recordings are used. Microsoft obtains customer consent before collecting and using their voice information.

We have also implemented several procedures designed to prioritize user privacy before sharing this data with our contractors, including data de-identification, requiring non-disclosure agreements with suppliers and their employees, and requiring suppliers to comply with the high privacy standards set out in European law. We continue to rethink how we handle voice data to provide the clearest options for customers and to achieve strong privacy protections.”

When Microsoft provides a contractor with an audio recording to transcribe, they are also offered a series of rough translations generated by the Skype system, according to screenshots and other documents. The contractor then has to choose the most accurate one or provide his own, and the audio is treated as confidential information. Microsoft has confirmed that audio data is only available to contractors through a secure online portal and that the company is taking steps to remove user or device identifying information.

Source: 3dnews.ru