In recent years, scammers have regularly been mistaken for Microsoft to try to scam internet users by email. But this time, even if it looks like it, it is not the case. To comply with a new European regulation, Microsoft requires "parental consent" whose procedure is quite convoluted. For some, who may have misinformed their birth year when they created their Hotmail account, it becomes Kafkaesque. "I have to ask my parents to confirm my age," explained Jacques, who is 69 years old.
In recent weeks, you've certainly received emails from companies you've created an online account for. And they are finally very numerous: social networks, email accounts, shops, applications ... For the most connected of us, the list is long.
Most of the time, it is an informative email explaining the new "Terms of Service" and "Privacy Policy". The email warns you that these rules have changed to comply with the new European RGPD (General Data Protection Regulation), which comes into effect on May 25th. You've already been told about this important settlement with the case of Facebook and how to handle compromising photos.
In fact, all companies that have some personal data (as soon as you create an account, therefore) are affected by this RGPP. Including Microsoft, which is currently putting all the accounts of its European customers to the standards.
Among the innumerable rules, there is the delicate management of account holders who are minors. " Depending on the service you are trying to access, permission from a parent or guardian may be needed for a child to create a Microsoft account ," says the US software giant on this support page . And the services, that's not what is missing at Microsoft, between the simple email account (Hotmail, Outlook, etc.), the suite of software for individuals (Office, Skype, etc.) and businesses (they are innumerable), the video game (Xbox Live).📷
Link a credit card and pay 50 cents (non-refundable)
To put it simply: in Belgium, it takes 16 years to have a Microsoft account. If this is not the case, you must obtain the consent of a parent (a father, mother or legal guardian). This will be mandatory as of May 25, so the US giant has already begun to comply with the new rules.
" Microsoft regulates the accounts of its users around the world, by Hotmail.com Belgium, it began in mid-April, " said Katleen Dewaele, spokesperson for Microsoft Belgium.
If you are under 16, a " mandatory " procedure , when attempting to access your account, must be followed in order to unlock it. The least we can say is that it raises the question of users. And in these times of 'phishing' (attempt to hack your account) and scams of any kind on the internet and by phone, it can be understood.
" The RGPD requires us to protect the accounts of the youngest, but does not say how to protect it, " says our interlocutor. " In accordance with COPPA (protection of children's online privacy) in the United States, the surest way is to impose the use of a credit card, linked to a person, a verifiable identity " .
Microsoft therefore asks parents who want to recognize (consent) the account of their children under 16 years of age to enter the details of a credit card, and make a transfer of 50 cents. Unlike Paypal, the money is not refunded, but paid on their Microsoft account (which serves for example to buy software, Xbox games, brand equipment).
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"Beware: a good reaction"
Giving Microsoft $ 0.50 in communicating bank details is not necessarily the most obvious and logical procedure. Putting in place the reading of the identity card, or the use of the official Belgian platform , it would have been easier for the Belgians.
But Microsoft was probably looking for a universal solution to not complicate an already daunting task (there are hundreds of millions of accounts to be brought up to standard).
This paid procedure has the advantage of being automatic, and therefore faster than the other option , which is to communicate another email address to send a scan (or a photo) of an identity document. More tedious, it is managed in part manually and therefore requires a few days to be validated.
Whatever the method chosen, some users do not seem to be reassured or convinced, as some of the discussions show .
" People are suspicious and it's a good reaction, " said the spokesperson for Microsoft. " There are indeed many scam attempts on behalf of Microsoft, often over the phone ."
But in this case, it is a very genuine procedure. And if you do not play the game, you will not have access to your account, your emails, etc ...
" I became a miner, " says Jacques, who is 69
This kind of administrative project is no problem, you imagine. Especially since Microsoft has to respect different rules according to geographical areas, Europe is not the only one to worry about the protection of our personal data.
Some users have to deal with an age-related bug. " I've been using a Microsoft account for at least 10 years and for a few days, I've be