Speaking of HIPAA, Do MS's EULAs Violate It?
by Pamela Jones Groklaw I've been following a number of online discussions on HIPAA, the new regulation requiring health care providers to provide privacy and security protections for our personally identifiable health information, and in more than one place I've seen people raise the question: Do Microsoft's current EULAs, their End User License Agreements, violate HIPAA? HIPAA requires you to prevent access to PHI; the EULAs in question say Microsoft has the right to access your hard drive at will -- their will, not yours -- and download updates and patches. It's a bit like arguing over how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.... it doesn't matter what you conclude, it is what it is (or isn't), no matter what you say. Most people use Windows products and they probably will continue to do so, no matter what you say. You can't escape the EULA, so you're stuck, some say. Examples of such online conversations here [ http://yro.slashdot...